ONE HUNDRED PLAYS 


FOR 


OUT -DOOR THEATRES 


A SELECTED LIST 


SARA TRAINOR FLOYD 


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ONE HUNDRED PLAYS 


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A SELECTED LIST 


SARA TRAINOR FLOYD 


THE H. W. WILSON COMPANY 
1924. 


PUBLISHED JUNE, 1924 
Printed in the United States of America 


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PREFACE 


In the growing interest in the “Little Theatre Movement” which has made 
such rapid progress in the last twenty years, the “Open-Air Theatre” has played 
an important part. 

Throughout the country, outdoor theatres of various types have grown in 
popularity from Greek Theatres, constructed on true classic lines, to very simple 
garden plots and wooded places, which lend themselves by their natural charm, 
as backgrounds for outdoor plays. 

Too little literature has been devoted to this particular phase of the theatre. 
With the exception of Cheney’s excellent book “The Open-Air Theatre” and 
such articles concerning outdoor production as may be found in periodicals, the 
Drama, Quarterly Journal, etc., there has been little written, in the great amount 
of literature, on the Little Theatre Movement. 

The purpose of this Bibliography is to present a general list of plays, in con- 
cise form, procured from a brief survey of the history of dramatic literature, to 
all those who are interested in producing in open-air theatres. 

The Greek classic plays which were written to be played in the open, fail 
in a number of instances today, to hold the attention of the audience. Care should 
be taken in selecting a Greek play that the theatre is suited to and the audience 
in sympathy with this great type of drama. 

The next period that we survey is Pre-Shakespearean. It covers that great 
collection of Miracles, Moralities and Interludes, Masques and Comedies, which 
are in many cases adaptable to the uses of a modern producer. Such plays of 
this period as have been successfully produced by our contemporaries are included. 

The large number of modern plays presented is made up to a great degree, 
of one-act plays. The one-act play has enjoyed phenomenal popularity in Europe 
and America since 1890 and forms a very important part in contemporary liter- 
ature. It is of particular interest to the amateur as its construction and plot 
treatment make it a unit of expression more easy to sustain than is the case in 
the presenting of the longer three-act play. 

While pastorals and masques are) the best form of drama for outdoors, 
many plays not falling into these specific classes have been included, hoping that 
as they may all be done out-of-doors, they will fill a particular need. 


SARA FLoyp. 


NOTE: “One Hundred Plays for Out-door Theatres,’ was originally 
prepared as “An annotated bibliography of plays for Out-door 
Theatres,’ a Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the re- 
quirements for the degree of “Master of the Arts” in Drama, 
College of Fine Arts, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania. Accepted by Thomas Wood Stevens, Head 
of the Department of Drama, and E. Raymond Bossange, Di- 
rector. 

June 7, 1923. 


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INTRODUCTION 


In assigning to Miss Floyd the listing of a hundred plays for the open air, 
the Drama Department of the Carnegie Institute of Technology did not limit her 
to plays suited to any one type of open air theatre; and especially not to the type 
of its own Arts Garden theatre, with its enclosed brick garden-wall stage. Such 
a list, to be useful, should include the play which requires for its setting nothing 
but the earth and sky, and the play which may be done only with considerable 
plastic scenery or in certain relations to buildings which may serve for scenery. 
The comparative ease with which plays can now be lighted, and the value of the 
lighting in the suggestion of place and mood, should also be taken into account. 
All in all, the range of open air production is much wider than the continual 
repetition of “As You Like It’ would suggest. 

In general, however, the play which gains by being done outdoors is the 
play which has a positive breadth of style, and a fairly definite flow of external 
action. Its scenes need not all be laid under the open sky, if those which happen 
indoors are of a nature to be readily suggested by furniture, plastic backings, or 
controlled and concentrated light. For the matter of that, I find that a wagon- 
stage by means of which indoor scenes can be swiftly presented on an outdoor 
stage is not much more difficult than the simplest convincing treatment of outdoor 
scenes in an ordinary theatre. There is also an element of rapport. The open air 
audience is always willing to “go along with you,’ and not to be too exacting in 
matters of detail. Certain of the plays included in this list seemed at first glance 
to be more suited to a theatre under roof, but on looking them over with the in- 
tention of producing them, and subjecting them all, mentally, to the process of 
setting, I am inclined to consider the whole list available. The Drama Depart- 
ment at Carnegie Tech has produced more than a score of them, and these not 
all in the Garden theatre; but the ones which have been done indoors could, with 
a different approach, have been done outdoors just as well. In fact, when stress 
of weather has compelled us to move a production inside, the question has never 
become easier; the audience has always looked for greater precision with the loss 
of the open air breadth, and the play itself has gained nothing. 

There is no reason why scenery should not be used out of doors, so long as 
it is of a severely plastic order. It is obviously futile to try to mix painted with 
natural foliage; but if a tree or bush does not happen to grow where the play re- 
quires it, the crafts of camouflage are available. Hedges, gates, walls, doorways, 
windows (seen from without), not to mention fountains and sundials and the 
various favored movables of Romance, are all as easy outside as in. And since 
groups of community players gain most by continuous exercise in production, and 
the summer season may otherwise be lost, a broadening of the sylvan repertory, 


as this list suggests, is greatly to be desired. 
THomas Woop STEVENS. 


CONTENTS 


PESTS WoT fou ei ig i Ss MS a aac a Gd Ce Rea A aden De ED V 
PORTOTICTIONG 8) Serr Tete a oc ao crete te FR ea VS”. Vil 
ADDRESSES FOR PAYMENT OF ROVALTIES ...c..ccccccccccce x 


SHorRT Piays; ANNOTATED—Type, Characters, Setting, 
Costumes, Time, Comment, Royalty and Publisher... 1 


Long Ptays; ANNOTATED—Type, Characters, Setting, 
Costumes, Time, Comment, Royalty and Publisher... 9 


RE ERS VLE i See en een cb ree Gat etd ohn ee 16 
eR Ge HOR GAVY OMEN. « ovnicrn 5 vil fe eet ee eee nO aan 16 
WTEC RAP RIES wi eo an cre cera eee Ce te ole Ser 17 


PR ECTORVC OR. UBLISH ERS) oc xs il raeial fh tai Petes a eee 19 


ADDRESSES FOR PAYMENT OF ROYALTY 


(Not including those given in the script) 


American Play Co., 33 W. 42nd Street, N. Y. 

Appleton: D. Appleton & Co., New York and London. 

Baker: Walter H. Baker, Hamilton Place, Boston, Mass. 

Curtis Brown Ltd., 116 West 39th Street, N. Y. 

47 Workshop, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 

Four Seas Publishing Company, Copley Theatre Bldg., Boston, Mase 

French: Samuel French & Company, 28 W. 38th Street, N. Y. 

Frohman: Charles Frohman Co., Empire Theatre Bldg., Broadway, 
INC ENE 

Huebsch: B. W. Huebsch Co., 116 W. 13th Street, N. Y.— 

Paget Dramatic Agency, 62 W. 47th Street, N. Y. 

Smith Elder Co., 15 Waterloo Place, London, England. 

Stage Guild, Railway Exchange Bldg., Chicago, III. 

Stewart Kidd Publishing Company. Business has been taken over by 
D. Appleton Co. 

Swartout: Norman Lee Swartout, Summit, N. J. 

Washington Square Book Shop, 27 W. 8th Street, N. Y. 


N. B.—The Royalties listed in this book apply to amateur produc- 
tion only, professionals should apply to the agent or pub- 
lisher in each’ case. The payment of royalty is an im- 
portant matter and the producer should always make ar- 
rangements with the owners of the rights before setting a 
date for the production. The author is entitled to this 
fee both ethically and by law. In a few cases, it has been 
impossible to procure such information from the publishers 
and these are clearly stated in the text. In regard to the 
older plays, Greek, Restoration, etc., there is in general 
no royalty, but some translations and some modern ar- 
rangements, of these plays, which are now classics, carry 
a royalty and it is always better to consult the publisher 
before using a text when there is the least question of 
certainty. 


SHORT SREAYS 


Abraham, Melchisedec and Isaac. Ralph 
Higden. Entire in the Everyman Edition 
of Miracle Plays. Dutton, 80c. Second 
Episode in English Miracle Plays. Pol- 
lard, the Oxford Press. $2.85. 


Miracle play in verse. 1 scene. 8 m. 1 boy. 
extras. Setting: to represent a road, with a hill 
which rises immediately behind it. The higher 
level is required for the second episode. Costumes: 
of the characters in miracle plays were always in 
accordance with the role of the player. Divine char- 
acters always had the additional splendor of gilt 
beards and hair. Others in biblical costumes. 
Time: entire play, thirty-five minutes; second 
episode, fifteen minutes. Comment: This play is 
of the Chester Cycle and attributed to Ralph Hig- 
den. The tale is very simply told and is the 
familiar story of Abraham and Lot and God’s 
covenant with Abraham. The second episode deals 
with the sacrifice of Isaac. This episode is quite 
frequently given, and as it is short might be used 
with another miracle play. The Miracle full of 
dramatic incident, is true to life and as here 
depicted lends itself to simple production. The 
father and son are weil characterized. Royalty: 
None. 


Aria Da Capo. Edna St. Vincent Millay. 
Kennerley. $2. Also im Fifty Contempo- 
rary One-Act Plays. Shay and Loving, 
D. Appleton and Company. $5; and in 
Provincetown plays. D. Appleton and 
Company. $2.50. 

Fantasy in blank verse. 1 act. 4 m. 1 w. Setting: 
calls for a merry black and white interior, but can 
be played before any charming background. Im- 
mediately behind the footlights is a long table, 
with black and white cover, on which is spread a 
banquet. At either end of the table, thin legged 
chairs with high backs. Costumes: traditional 
costumes for Pierrot and Columbine, Pierrot in 
lavender and Columbine in pink. Shepherds, peas- 
ant costumes with cloaks. Time: twenty minutes. 
Comment: this fantasy of the love of Pierrot and 
Columbine is full of charm and rich in imagina- 
tion. The play within the play is portrayed by the 
shepherds as an interlude or rehearsal. Quite 
suited to High School age, this little play should 
have careful direction and rehearsal with proper- 
ties, as it must have a lightness of touch which 
comes with experience. Royalty: $15 for each of 
the first three performances, $5 for each subsequent 
performance. Author, 27 W 48 St. N.Y.C. 


At the Edge of the Wood. Kenneth Saw- 
yer Goodman. Jn More Quick Curtains. 
Stage Guild, Chicago. $1.50. 


Fantasy in. verse. 1 scene. 6 m. 2 w. 


Setting: 
an open space at the edge of an old wood, with a 
path winding through the trees, at the left near 
the audience there is an unlighted camp fire. 
Costumes: fantastic for the faun and the wood 
sprite, modern for the others. Time: about fifteen 
minutes. Comment: a poet, an artist, an architect 
and a merchant, guided by the poet, seek relief 
from their failures in the woods. They each carry 
a bundle of faggots, dead sticks that represent the 
empty honors and other petty attributes of their 
every day lives. They determine to hurn them 
in an attempt to rekindle the joy of life. The 
faun, the spirit of the woods, welcomes them and 
listens to each separate story. The faun assures 
them that in the fire each wili see new hopes spring 
forth, but that they themselves must light the fire. 
As there is no flame left in their hearts they must 
await another traveller in whose breast the sacred 
spark burns. A working man and woman are seen 
at the edge of the wood. They have come for a 
holiday, away from the congested districts. They 


Au Revoir. 


Blind. Seumas O’Brien. 


are happy because they have not time to be other- 
wise. In their travels they carry with them a 
little lamp, the lamp of their unselfish love. They 
are persuaded to light the fire. The dream is com- 
pleted and the faun promises to all the silence 
and beauty of the woods, and the blessing of the 
changeless stars. This play in beautiful verse is 
delicate and effective. Royalty: $10, when admis- 
sion is charged. $5, when no admission is 
charged. Swartout. Also Stage Guild. 


Austin Dobson. In At the 
Sign of the Lyre. Scribner. o.p.; also im 
Book of Recitations. E. S. Werner. $1.75. 


Comedy in verse in one scene. 1 m. 1 w. Setting: 
a park with a marble bench, to represent a corner 
in the Luxembourg Gardens. Costumes: should be 
picturesque, a gallant of the period of the French 
Revolution and a Lady. Time: five minutes. Com- 
ment: this light comedy has all the charm of Dres- 
den figures. It is quite short and might be used 
for a curtain raiser or even just a reading. Mon- 
sieur Jolicoeur, and the Lady, meet in the Luxem- 
bourg Gardens, each having received a letter pre- 
sumably from the other. They understand in a 
moment what has occurred, and looking about they 
observe the plotter. They however, are too clever 
for him and defeat his purpose by feigning a long 
friendship and an unexpected meeting. The play 
is deftly presented. Royalty: No information 
available. 


Behind a Watteau Picture. Robert Emmons 


Rogers. W. H. Baker. $1. 


Fantasy in verse. 1 act. 6 m. 2 w. extras. Set- 
ting: two scenes, a Watteau picture tableau, and 
a garden with wall and gate. The staging _Te- 
quires careful attention but need not be expensive. 
There are helpful notes in the text. Costumes: 
the Watteau characters should wear the costumes 
of that period; the traditional costumes for the 
Pierrot group; while the extras, Chinese and 
negroes, should be brilliant and bizarre. Time: 
forty-five minutes. Comment: the play opens with 
the tour of a gallery. The guide, discussing the 
pictures, pauses, pointer in hand, before the Wat- 
teau tableau, gives his opinion and passes on. 
Harlequin enters, waves his hand at the group in 
the frame and they all come to life. The bored 
Watteau Marquise then takes part in the tangled 
loves of Pierrot, Harlequin and Columbine, which 
are tragic to say the least. The play should be 
well staged, costumed and acted to give the desired 
effect. Royalty: $10. Swartout. 


Egmont Arens. 
35C. 


Farce comedy, Irish. Prose. 1 act. 3m. Set#- 
ting: a street in a country town. At the rear of 
the stage is a wall and a public house is seen to 
one side. Costumes: peasant and policeman’s uni- 
form. Time: about fifteen minutes. Comment: the 
very amusing story of a bogus blind beggar, the 
stranger who works with him and the simple but 
none too honest policeman. The policeman prides 
himself on his prowess and the other two cleverly 
relieve him of fifty pounds. The story shifts in a 
most surprising manner. Royalty: $1o first per- 
formance; $5 thereafter. Washington Square Book- 
shop, N.Y.C. 


Carrots. Jules Renard. French. 30c. 


Serious play in prose, translated from the French 
by Alfred Sutro. 1 act. 1m. 2 w. Setting: a 
country courtyard with an old house at left; at 
right, a wall with an iron gate; at center, a cir- 
cular seat with a dog kennel to the left. Costumes: 
modern. The boy’s clothes are obviously too small 
for him. Time: forty-five minutes. Comment: 
Carrots, a happy boy, who has been made the 
family drudge, has great difficulty with his mother, 


Z 


PLAYS: FOR OUT-DOOR. THE Athi 


Carrots—Continued 


Columbine. 


a nervous woman, who looks for the sympathy she 
does not deserve. The father makes the best of 
the situation, and in him the boy finds a staunch 
friend. The entrance of Annie, a well balanced 
woman servant, rather assures the tranquility of 
the household. The play, pathetic in tone, has 
fine characterization, bright moments and ends 
happily. Royalty: $10. French. 


Chaplet of Pan. Thomas Wood Stevens and 


Wallace Rice. Stage Guild. 50c. 

Masque in blank verse. 1 scene. 6 m. 6 w. 
extras. Setting: a wood, in the garden of Ugolino; 
marble seats at right and left; statuary in the 
shrubbery. At the extreme right a figure of a faun. 
Costumes: fifteenth century Italian court costumes 
for the mortals, peasant costumes for the goatherd 
and goatherdess, grotesque masque for Pan and 
fairy costumes for the others. Time: about one 
hour. Comment: a fantastic tale in beautiful verse, 
ideal for outdoor production. The story has to 
do with the magic Chaplet of Pan, that has power 
to make all cast away their cares and dance to 
inward music. Ugolino, a mortal and a prince, 
bored by the happiness of all around him, decides 
to make an end of their May-Day folly. He at- 
tempts to set their loves at criss-cross, but he, him- 
self falls under the spell of the Chaplet. At the 
close of the play and of the day, Pan is discovered 
laughing, and in a merry epilogue surveys all “‘sub- 
servient to love, friend and servant of the great 
god Pan.” Royalty: $10 when admission is charged, 
$5 when no admission is charged. Stage Guild. 


Reginald Arkell. Sidgwick 
Jackson, London, and LeRoy Phillips. 


Boston. 75c. 

Fantasy in verse. 1 scene. 4 m. I w. 1 boy. 
Setting: a woodland with a fairy ring in the fore- 
ground. The scene is at the identical spot of an 
old Roman camp in the South Downs. Costumes: 
rustic for the peasants, traditional Pierrot, Harlequin 
and Columbine for the others. Drawings in the 
text by Richard Carter are valuable aids. Time: 
thirty minutes. Comment: this is one of the most 
effective plays ever written for out of doors. The 
old man and a boy are discovered seated on a 
knoll, discussing fairies and other imaginative 
things, when Columbine enters. The boy leaves 
for home as night falls, while Columbine and Daniel 
await Harlequin and Pierrot, who are going to 
combat for her love. They call for an arbiter and 
old Daniel, quite unwittingly, clinches the point for 
Pierrot. The play closes with an epilogue. The 
fantasy is deftly and charmingly written, marked 
by true rustic humor. Royalty: $8. French. 


Constant Lover (The). St. John Hankin. Jn 


his Dramatic Works, vol. 2, Kennerley. 
3 vols. $12. Also im Theatre Arts Maga- 
zine, April, 1919. 

Comedy in prose. 1 act. 1m. 1w. Setting: a 
glade in a wood, at center, a great beech tree. 
Costumes: modern. . . lightest and most charming 
of summer attire. Time: thirty-five minutes. Com- 
ment: the author suggests for an overture, wood- 
land music from Hansel and Gretel or pastoral 
music from Peer Gynt (Grieg), or some Gabriel 
Faure. The curtain rising reveals the constant 
lover, who falls in love with every girl he meets, 
who is constantly in love. The girl however is of 
a more constant nature and a highly amusing dia- 
logue ensues. The play is a brilliant comedy, 
beautifully written, must be lightly played, for a 
particular audience. Royalty: $10. French. 


Corydon. Thomas Bailey Aldrich. Jn Sis- 


ter’s Tragedy and Other Poems. Hough- 
ton Mifflin Company. $1.75. 

_ Pastoral in verse. 1 scene. 1 m. 1 boy. Set- 
ting: a roadside in Arcady. Costumes: of any 
period, but should be picturesque. Time: five 
minutes. Comment: the shepherd, but a boy, meets 
the pilgrim on the way and asks him if he has seen 
his lady fair, lamenting sorely that he has lost her. 
The pilgrim describes a girl whom he has seen 
pass by, who so surpasses the shepherd’s lady fair 
that the boy is forced to ask, “This one, which 


Dark Lady of the Sonnets. 


way went she’? The pilgrim directs the boy, and 
then smiling to himself he says, ‘‘He loves, thus 
lads at first are blind, No woman, only woman- 
kind.’? The pastoral is an amusing, light and grace- 
ful interlude and might be used quite successfully 
as a curtain raiser. Royalty: None. 


George Ber- 


nard Shaw. Brentano’s. $2.25. 

Comedy in prose. 1 act. 2 m. 2 w. Setting: 
midsummer night on Whitehall Terrace at the end 
of the sixteenth century. A railing may be used 
to mark the _ terrace. Costumes: Elizabethan. 
Time: about fifteen minutes, Comment: for a 
sophisticated audience, delightful if skillfully 
played. Shakespeare awaiting the Dark Lady of 
the Sonnets, meets Queen Elizabeth. He greets 
her in his mood, makes ardent love to her and is 
discovered by the Dark Lady. A fiery scene of 
jealousy follows. Quite an amusing situation with 
brilliant dialogue, in which Shakespeare wrings 
from the astounded queen a promise to support his 
theatre. Royalty: $10. American Play Company. 


Dollar (The). David Pinski. In Ten Plays. 


B. W. Huebsch. $2. 

Comedy in prose. 1 act. 5 m. 3 w. Setting: 
a cross roads at the edge of a forest, to the right 
a sign post. Costumes: Russian peasant. Time: 
twenty minutes. Comment: a band of strolling 
players arrive at the sign post, and discuss the in- 
formation they find there, as to the distance of 
three towns. They are all quite desolate, when the 
comedian attempts to console them. They find a 
dollar, struggle for it, and finally lose it in a most 
distracting manner. Satirical, delicate and very 
amusing. Royalty: $10 if admission is charged; 
$5 if no admission is charged. Payable to the pub- 
lisher. B. W. Huebsch. 


Free Speech. William L. Prosser. In Har- 


vard Plays of the 47 Workshop, first 


series. Brentano’s. $1.25. 

Satire in prose. 1 act. 7 m. Setting: an open 
space backed by a wall to represent a prison. The 
door in the wall must be practical. Costumes: Rus- 
sian peasant for the men and a corporal’s uniform 
for the officer. Time: fifteen minutes. Comment: 
six men in Bolshevist Russia, who are commissioned 
to shoot a German prisoner, get into an argument 
over free speech. The argument becomes so heated 
and the rules of parliamentary law so_ intricate 
that, during their intense interest in the discussion, 
their prisoner escapes. They all determine to do 
a little bombing, but again the crafty prisoner is 
the quicker, and while they have gone in search of 
a bomb, he has lighted the fuse that will cause the 
end of all. Clever and amusing dialogue. Royalty: 
$10. 47 Workshop. 


Gaol Gate (The). Lady Gregory. In Seven 


Short’ Plays, Putnam’s. -$2: 

Tragedy in prose. 1 act. 31m. 2 w. Setting: 
just outside a prison gate, a wall with a doorway 
will suffice. Costumes: peasant. Time: about 
fifteen minutes. Comment: the mother and wife 
of a supposed rebel talk to the jailer, at the door 
provided for visitors. They have heard that ne 
is to be released, as he has given the names of his 
companions. They learn that his freedom was 
death, as he had refused to betray his comrades. 
Pathetic throughout, requires careful acting, but 
is quite within amateur range. Royalty: $5. 
French. 


Glittering Gate (The). Lord Dunsany. In 


ie Plays. Little, Brown and Company. 
1.05. 
Dialogue in prose. 1 ‘act. 2 m. Set#ing? a 


lonely place strewn with black rocks, with the gate 
of heaven at the back. The door is of gold. 
Costumes: modern. Time: very short, ten minutes. 
Comment: two criminals, Jim and Bill, lately 
burglars and both dead, discover each other at the 
gate of heaven. They are old friends. Jim turns 
philosopher while Bill practises his art on the lock 
of the gate. The dialogue ends with their discovery 
of what lies beyond the “‘gate of heaven.” Royalty: 
$10. Swartout. 


PLAYS FOR OUT-DOOR THEATRES A 


Glory of the Morning. William Ellery 
Leonard. In Wisconsin Plays, edited by 
Thomas H. Dickinson. B. W. Huebsch. 


1.50. ; 

eS Benoa in prose. 1 act. 3 m. 2 w. Setting: an 
autumn afternoon, long ago; a wigwam to left, to 
right—cross sticks and kettle; to extreme right a 
canoe, drawn up among the rushes, and, scattered 
about, other properties suggesting Indian habita- 
tion. Costumes: Indian costumes for all, except- 
ing the Chevalier, who is dressed as a trapper, but 
wears military jacket and cap. Time: forty-five 
minutes. Comment: Glory of the Morning, an In- 
dian squaw, and her husband the Chevalier, a noble- 
man and adventurer live quietly and happily with 
their children, Red Wing, a boy and Oak Leaf, a 
girl, in a French and Indian fur trading district. 
Word reaches the Chevalier that his father has 
died, and that he must return to his father’s home 
in France. He explains to Glory of the Morning, 
that she, an Indian squaw, cannot return with 
him, but that he will take his children to the land 
of his father and educate them. A dramatic 
scene follows in which the mother cries out for 
her children. Then Black Wolf, a medicine man, 
suggests that the children decide for themselves 
and choose between their parents. The little girl 
determines to go with her father, but the boy in 
true Indian fashion chooses to remain a Winne- 
bago. The play is well written with fine feeling 
and splendid atmosphere, quite suited to senior high 
school age. Royalty: $10 if admission is charged, 
$5 when admission is free. B. W. Huebsch. 


Golden Doom (The). Lord Dunsany. In 


Five Plays. Little, Brown and Company. 
$1.65. 

Fantastic comedy in prose. 1 act. 9 m. I w. ex- 
tras. Setting: outside the king’s great door in 
Zericon. Costumes: oriental, the period of this 
play is ‘‘somewhile before the fall of Babylon,” so 
that the costumes may be quite original. Time: 
fifteen minutes. Comment: this play might be 
given by a cast of girls. It is the story of two 
children, who in their play, write in gold on the 
king’s great door. The king on his return, thinks 
it is a message of ill omen from the gods and 
humbles himself before them. The stars are ex- 
piated and the little boy’s wish is granted in an 
unexpected manner. The play is quite short. 
Royalty: $10. Curtis Brown. 


Grandmother. Lajos Biro. In Fifty Con- 
temporary One-Act Plays, Shay & Loving. 
D. Appleton and Company. $5. 


Delightful Hungarian play in prose, trans., 
Charles Recht. 1 act. 3m. 7 w. Setting: a broad 
sunny terrace with garden furniture, a large sum- 
mer residence at rear. Costumes: modern summer 
sport clothes, with -suitable dress for the grand- 
mother. Time: twenty to twenty-five minutes. 
Comment: the grandchildren are gathered at the 
grandmother’s home for her golden anniversary. 
They are of various types, the melancholy, the vi- 
vacious, the polite, the sentimental, the high school 
girl and the disagreeable young man. They beg 
their grandmother for an after dinner story, which 
begins quite simply enough but has a most amaz- 
ing conclusion, not altogether pleasant. The play 
has dramatic value, but should not be attempted 
for any other than a sophisticated audience. 
Royalty: $10. Charles Recht, c/o D. Appleton and 
Company. 


Hunger. Eugene Pillot. Jn Representative 
One-Act Plays. Margaret Mayorga. 
Little, Brown and Company. $3. 

Dramatic allegory. 1 scene. 4 m.1 w. Setting: 
a garden through which is a roadway. A large 
tower with a practical door is necessary. Cos- 
tumes: modern. Time: twenty minutes. Comment: 
the tower represents the unattainable. To it come 
the beggar who hungers for food, the girl who 
desires clothes, the poet, love, and the man, fame, 
They would all open the door leading to desirable 
things but they cannot. The satisfied man attempts 
to dissuade them, saying that only dissatisfaction 
comes from satiety. They do not heed him but 


King Rene’s Daughter. 


force the door and rush blindly to their_failure 
and disappointment. A serious play. Difficult. 
Royalty: $10. Swartout. 


Idyll of the Carp. Austin Dobson. In Old 


World Idylls, Scribner. o. p. 

Poetic sketch in one scene. 2 w. Setting: 
France—a lovely garden with a pool at center. Cos- 
twmes: of whatever period desired, but they should 
be elaborate and beautiful. Time: ten minutes. 
Comment: the princess and her lady-in-waiting are 
amusing themselves in the garden. The princess 
gazing into the pool, likens the fish, who come to 
be fed, to the various men of her acquaintance. 
The comparisons are not made for the sake of 
comedy, but are rather true pictures, subtle and 
clearly outlined. The dialogue may be appropriately 
used to open a program or as a reading. Royalty: 
No information available. 


Interlude of Youth. Jn vol. 1 of W. C. Haz- 


litt’s edition of Dodsley, London. 

Morality play in verse. 3 scene. 5 m. I w. 
Setting: an attractive out-door stage. Costumes: 
period, fifteenth century. Time: about fifteen to 
twenty minutes. Comment: a moral interlude deal- 
ing with the temptations of youth. The characters 
who lead to his fall are represented in Riot, Pride 
and Lechery, while Humility and Charity aid in 
his repentance and ultimate salvation. The play 
has dramatic value, distinguished by unusual grace- 
fulness and ease of manner, interesting character- 
ization with good situations. This Interlude, with 
that of Hycke Scorner, enjoyed the greatest popu- 
larity and while it is difficult to obtain, can usually 
be found in a good library. Royalty: None. 


Jephthah’s Daughter. Elma Ehrlich Levin- 


ger, (French. 35: 

Biblical tragic drama in prose. 1 act. 6m. 5 w. 
extras. Setting: on the road before the house of 
Jephthah (which should be visible in the background, 
but may be of very primitive construction) of a 
spring morning. Costumes: period, biblical. Time: 
about an hour. Comment: a religious play with 
fine dramatic quality. Sheila, the daughter of Jeph- 
thah an outcast, is the bethrothed of Nathan. The 
father returns from battle, the hero of the people. 
He had promised as a sacrifice in return for vic- 
tory, the first person that should greet him on 
his return home. By a strange trick of fate it is 
Sheila. She, on hearing of her father’s vow, is 
torn between her love for Nathan and her duty to 
her father. She then determines to sacrifice her- 
self. The play is of a good length, intensely in- 
teresting, with well drawn characters and much 
that is dramatic in situation. Songs and dances 
may be added for the festival scene. The play is 
especially recommended for a church audience. It 
is one of the Drama League prize plays for 1921. 
Royalty: None. 


Hendrik Hertz. 
Henry: sHolte Companyesdst- oe Woe Ee 
Baker Company. 25¢c. 


Lyric play in verse. 7 scenes. 6 m. 2 w. Set- 
ting: a garden in Provence, 15th century; to the 
left a one story house, a wall at back with prac- 
tical gate. Costumes: period. Time: about one hour. 
Comment: poetic drama from the Danish. Princess 
Tolanthe blind since infancy, meets Count Tristan 
an enemy of her household, and falls in love with 
him. Meanwhile a famous physician prepares to 
perform an operation to restore her sight but in- 
sists that she be told what sight is, Her sight is 
restored, and Tristan, once the enemy of her house- 
hold, becomes her husband. Royalty: none. 


King’s Threshold (The). William Butler 


Yeats. In Plays in Prose and Verse. 
Macmillan Company. $2.50. Also in 
Poetical Works. Vol. 2. Macmillan. o.p. 


Poetic drama. 1 scene. 9 m. 5 w. The cripples 
and pupils may be either boys or girls and the 
groups may vary in number. Setting: the threshold 
of a great Celtic castle in Ireland in the olden 
time. Large broad steps are necessary for the 
action and curtains may be hung to represent the 
castle background if a partial set is not available. 


PLAYS FOR OUT-DOOR THEATRES : 


Kings Threshold (The)—Continued 

Costumes: mediaeval, court costumes should be very 
beautiful, the peasant costumes may be of varying 
degrees of respectability. Time: about forty-five 
minutes. Comment: this is a play of Ireland in 
the olden time. A poet, deprived of his rightful 
honor, a seat at the king’s table, makes use of the 
ancient, traditional weapon of the hunger strike, to 
restore again the ancient right of the poets. Among 
those who plead with him to take food ares tie 
Mayor, the Chamberlain, the King, a Peasant from 
his own village, the Princess and the peasant girl, 
Fedelm. The king, fearing the ill luck that would 
attend him if the man die at his threshold, and 
realizing that the people would turn against him, 
begs the poet to eat, but to no avail. All who are 
concerned with the king or the poet plead with him 
but he resolutely reiuses all offers of food. When 
all means have failed, the king realizes that the 
spirit of the poet is not to be conquered and that 
the gift of poesy is truly from heaven. The king 
places his crown in the poet’s hands acknowledging 
to all the singer’s victory. The play offers a wide 
variety of very good parts, especially that of the 
poet, which is difficult and should be well sustained, 


in his mood, for the success of the play. Royalty: 
Siew Hrench: 

Likely Story (A). Lawrence Housman. 
French, 5c. 


Roadside comedy in prose. 1 act. 3 m. 1 girl. 


1 bear. Setting: a road at the outskirts of a town, 
bounded by a wall with a practical door and 
window. An apple tree with apples. Costumes: 


any period of peasant costume, a bear skin for the 
bear. Time: thirty minutes. Comment: a delight- 
ful comedy, in which Grumble, an old man, finds 
again his son, Nimble, a wandering minstrel. 
Nimble had been carried away in his youth by the 
bear, Tiny. Charming dialogue between Nimble 
and Thimble, who proves to be his cousin. The 
bear has much to do with the problem of proving 
his master’s identity. The bear’s pantomime gives 
splendid opportunity for comedy. Royalty: $5. 
French. 


Lost Silk Hat (The). Lord Dunsany. In 


Five Plays. Little, Brown and Company. 
$1.65 

Light-comedy with farcical situation. 1 act. 6 m. 
Setting: a fashionable London Street, showing ex- 
terior of house with a practical door. Costumes: 
modern. Time: ten minutes. Comment: the caller 
“faultlessly dressed” but hatless, stands on the 
doorstep and attempts to persuade his unknown 
comrades, one by one, to procure the hat which he 
has left behind him, in the house. The poet has 
much to say for romance. The play is clever, 
always effective, and frequently given. Royalty: 
$10. Swartout. 


Love, The Locksmith. Thomas Kennedy. 


Manuscript only. 

A morality in rhymed verse. «1 scene. 4 m. 3 w. 
a boy and a girl, Setting: a garden treated in a 
conventional manner, two houses face each other 
on opposite sides of a street, only the portion show- 
ing a door and a window need be visible, but the 
two doors and the two windows must be practical. 
At the rear of the stage, center; a bench and a 
tree. The houses are very attractive in black and 
white. Costumes: Cupid; tall hat, frock coat and 
tall boots, later he is disguised as a locksmith in 
a long coat. For the two men and two women, the 
parents, character costumes, Victorian. The young 
man and young girl, in attractive summer sport 
clothes, and the two children should wear clothes 
which they have obviously outgrown. Time: about 
twelve minutes. Comment: a modern morality— 
the story of two young lovers whose parents do 
not speak to their neighbors. The lovers are aide 
by Cupid, disguised as a locksmith, who offers bliss 
and eternities of joy to all who are obedient to 
him. The parents and smaller children lend the 
comedy atmosphere to the play, which is highly 
amusing. This little play should be acted lightly 
and deftly as a harlequinade. First produced at 
the Little Theatre, Carnegie Institute of Technol: 
ogy, Pittsburgh Pa. 1921. Royalty: $5. Author. 
R.F.D. Box 32, Clayton, Delaware, from whom 
the manuscript may be obtained. 


Medicine Show. Stuart Walker. In 


Maker of Dreams. Oliphant Down. Leroy. 
Phillips, 50c; with music $1. Also pub-. 
‘lished in One-Act Plays by Modern Au-. 


thors, Helen: Louise Cohen. Harcourt 


Brace & Company. $2.25. re 

Fantasy in prose. 1 act. 2 m. 1. w. Setting: 
which calls for an old cottage room, with moon- 
light streaming in, can be readily adapted to a 
garden theatre, with the addition or suggestion of 
a conventional setting in black and white. Cos- 
tumes: usual costume for Pierrot and for Pier- 
rette, and for the manufacturer a quaintly cut coat 
of bottle green, with silver buttons and large side 
pockets, knee breeches and shoes with large silver 
buckles. Time: fifteen minutes. Comment: Pier- 
rot, always in love, is pining for a girl whom he 
saw at a fair. Pierrette is in love with him, and 
of course a little jealous. The Manufacturer or the 
Maker of Dreams, comes and goes again—but not 
without success, as Pierrot finds that his true love 
is indeed Pierrette. A charming, dainty fantasy, 
which requires lightness to insure success. Royalty: 
$8. French. 


Man About the Place (The). Harold Brig- 


house. In Plays for the Meadow and 
Plays tor the Lawn... Prench 2 y75e) 
Comedy in prose. 1 act. 3 m. 6 w. Setting: 


the lawn of a country house. Costumes: modern. 
Time: twenty minutes. Comment: a band of land 
girls who scorn men and live in seclusion are in- 
vaded by several men. Comedy ensues, and several 


matches are quickly made. Rather. farcical. 
Royalty: $10. French. 
Masque of Culture (The). Annie Eliot 


Trumbull. W. H. Baker Companyagee 


Beat masque in prose. 3 acts. 2 m. 9 w.  Séf- 
ting: any open space, the first scene is Mount 
Olympus; the second a park with benches and a 
stage. Costumes: Greek classic for the prologue, 
The characters of the play proper, various women 
of different times, require the costumes of their 
age, such as Athenian, Venetian, English peeress 
and modern. Costumes are not difficult. Time: 
thirty-ive minutes. Comment: Minerva sends Con- 
fucius and Socrates. to Boston, to represent her at 
a convention for “Woman’s Rights.” They meet 
there the famous women of the past, Zenobia, Hy- 
patia, Cassandra, Portia, etc. All the parts may 
be taken by women. The masque is a very amus- 
ing parody. Royalty: None. 


Maypole Morning. Harold Brighouse. In 


Plays for the Meadow and Plays for the 
Lawns Prench:. 75c, 

A May-day play in prose. 1 act. 15 m. 4 w. 
extras. Setting: a village green, May-day 1665, 
Costumes: period, royal costumes for king and lord. 
Time: twenty minutes. Comment: villagers danc- 
ing about the Maypole are championed by Charles 
II, against a local puritanic lord. love match 
gives thread plot. A folk dance may be substituted 
for the maypole dance. Royalty: $10. French. 


Port- 


manteau- Plays. -D. Appleton and. @on- 


Dati wh2s50; 


Comedy in prose. 1 -act. 3 mm. Seminge van 


open space presumably the bank of a river. Cos 
tumes: modern, suited to “ne’er do wells” of a 
country village. Time: about fifteen minutes. 


Comment: a very amusing sketch in country dia- 
lect, of two simple country boys who spend their 
time fishing and basking in the sun, and a quack 
doctor who has a scheme for money. The setting 
requires only a soap box, a log and a stone. The 
characterization is good and the play is quite 
suited to amateurs. Foyalty: $10. Author, 304 
Carnegie Hall, N-Y.€C. 


Merry, Merry Cuckoo. Jeannette Marks. In 


Three Welsh Plays. Little, Brown and 
Company, $1.65; and also in Representa- 
tive One-Act Plays by American Authors, 
compiled by Margaret Mayora. Little, 
Brown and Company. $3. 


i PLAYS FOR OUT-DOOR THEATRES — 5 


- Poetic drama in prose. 1 act. 3 m. 2 w. extras. 
Setting: in Wales, a garden with a cottage at back, 
- a road at the right leads to the village beyond. 
Costumes: Welsh peasant. They are helpfully de- 
scribed in the text of the play. Time: twenty-five 
minutes. Comment: the villagers are at prayer 
meeting, all except David, an old, old man and 
Annie, his wife. David’s life is slipping away and he 
longs to hear the first cuckoo’s song that he and 
-his wife have listened for together, for over fifty 
years. In order to soothe him, she bravely imitates 
the cuckoo’s song but is discovered by her sedate 
neighbors, who object on moral grounds. The play 
is full “of pathos and humor and is_ very 
quaint. Suited to High School age. Royalty: 
$10 for first performance; $5 thereafter. Author, 
Presidents house, South Hadley, Mass. 


Night. James Oppenheim. 
Square Bookshop. 35c. 


Poetic Drama. 1 act. 4 m. 1 w. Setting: a 
hilltop, in October, at night, the play is readily 
-adapted to an interior stage and the actors can 
appear in silhouette before a lighted blue curtain, 
with a single mound to suggest a hilltop. Cos- 
tumes: modern throughout. The priest, the poet 
and the scientist may wear robes to suggest their 
calling. Time: quite short, fifteen minutes. Com- 
ment: this is a play for a sophisticated audience, 
symbolic throughout. The priest, the scientist and 
the poet face reality and each responds after his 
Own manner; there are five splendid parts, especi- 
ally that of the woman. Royalty: $10 for the first 
performance, $5 thereafter. Washington Square 
Bookshop. 


Washington 


Noah’s Flood. Ralph Higden. Jn English 
Miracle Plays edited by Alfred Pollard. 
Oxford Press. $2.85. Also im Everyman 
and Eight Miracle Plays, Everyman Edi- 


tion. Dutton Company. 8oc. (and others). 

A’ miracle play in verse. 1 scene. 5 m: 4 w. 
Setting: an open space, presumably the enclosure 
about Noah’s house. A work bench and other 
notes of occupation may be added. The ark, car- 
ried in during a dark change, may be of simple 
construction as only the downstage side need be 
visible. The characters and animals pass in behind 
it. Costumes: period, biblical. Time: about twenty 
minutes. Comment: this is one of the twenty-five 
plays known as the Chester Cycle, and attributed 
to Ralph Higden. It is also known under the titles, 
“Noah’s wife” and “The Deluge.’’ The story of 
Noah is very simply told, and a note of comedy 
is added when Noah’s wife at first refuses to leave 
her friends, the gossips. The original stage direc- 
tions suggest, that the names of the animals be 
read aloud as they enter, and that they are repre- 
sented by drawings on parchment which are carried 
in. This play and that of the “Sacrifice of Isaac’’ 
are frequently given. Royalty: None. 


Pan in Ambush. Marjorie Patterson. Nor- 


man Remington Company. 4oc. 

Fantasy in verse. 1 scene. 3m. 4 w. Setting: 
an old fashioned garden. Costumes: modern, with 
suitable attire for the faun. Time: about twenty 
minutes. Comment: into this old garden come the 
poet, the faun, the schoolmistress and the botany 
teacher. Highly amusing complications ensue, full 
of satire and sentiment. The play is an idyll of 
Springtime and youth and is excellent for out of 
doors. Requires rather skillful direction and while 
difficult, is quite delightful for a sophisticated audi- 


ence. Royalty: $15 first performance; $10 there- 
after. Swartout. 


Paris Doctor. Harold Brighouse. In Plays 


for the Meadow and Plays for the Lawn. 
Prench...: 7c; 

A Brittany folk play in prose. 1 act. Senin? Wwe 
Setting: the garden of a house in a Brittany fish. 
ing village. Costumes: preferably modern. Henri, 
the fisher boy and Marie, the peasant girl must 
be picturesque. Time: about twenty-five minutes. 
Comment: the girl refuses her sailor lover, for the 
sake of a dead sweetheart. Retired doctor “cures 


her.”’ The local barber adds an el t of 
Royalty: $s. French. n element of comedy. 


Pawns. 


Percival Wilde. Jn the Unseen 
Host and Other War Plays. Little, 


Brown and Company. $1.50. 

Tragic drama in prose. 1 scene. 5 m. 1 boy. 
Setting: a clearing in a forest, near the center of 
which is a small fire, which casts but little light. 
Costumes: peasant costumes of eastern Europe, and 
a sergeant’s uniform—Russian. Time: about twenty 
minutes. Comment: the story is a very tragic one, 
a vehement preachment against the horrors of war. 
The father and two sons, who have paused on their 
way to rest, are going to the mobilization of their 
country’s forces. They, in their simplicity, think 
that mobilization is a festival or probably a relig- 
ious ceremony. They meet two neighbors who are 
also on their way. They discover that they are 
going to different cities but even that does not 
seem strange to them. A drunken Russian officer 
enters. He discovers that the peasants are sub- 
jects of different lands, Russia and Austria. But 
the peasants know only that they are neighbors 
and friends. The Russian in his stupor, brings the 
war to the little clearing, and kills lame Peter, an 
Austrian. Stephen, himself a Russian, kills the 
sergeant. The play closes with each of the survi- 
vors picking up his pack and setting out. The 
Russians go one way and the lone Austrian 
another, saying, ‘‘Farewell brother,” to one another. 
Royalty. $7.50. Baker. 


Pierrot of the Minute. Ernest Dowson. Jn 


Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays, Shay 
and Loving. D. Appleton and Company. 
$5. Also Mosher Company. $1.25. 


Dramatic fantasy in verse. 1 act. Im. I w. 
Setting: a glade in a park; in the center, a Doric 
Temple; at the left a statue of cupid on a pedestal. 
Twilight. Costumes: Pierrot costume for the man, 
a soft robe-like costume with veils for the Moon 
Maiden. Time: twenty-five minutes. Comment: 
Pierrot, in search of adventure, meets the Moon 
Maiden who warns him that “‘he is safe who flies,” 
but he will not heed her. She tells him that all 
who fall under the Moon Maiden’s spell are Moon 
lovers always, and he in return for her story, tells 
her of mortals. They enact an imaginary scene at 
court, the dawn breaks and Pierrot sinks to sleep 
again. But “whom once the moon has kissed, loves 
long amd late, yet never finds the maid to be his 
mate.’’ Pierrot never finds his love again but must 
seek her in vain in each fair face. The play is in 
lyric verse and should be quite effective if care- 
fully worked out. Royalty: None. 


Prince Who Was a Piper. Harold Brig- 


house. Jn Plays for the Meadow and 
Plays for the Lawn. French. 75c. 

Fairy play in prose. 1 act: 5 m. 8 w. Setiwg: 
a palace garden, a la Versailles. Costumes: no 
special period need be followed, but the author sug- 
gests that the Watteau period might be used most 
successfully. Time: twenty-five minutes. | Com- 
ment: a fairy story of a prince who must needs 
wed a certain princess, and how each tries to 
escape, and finally how they fall in love with each 
other; without knowing the other is his destined 
mate. Play is pretty and amusing, with opportun- 
ity for character parts. Royalty: $10. French. 


Rainald and the Red Wolf. Thomas Wood 


Stevens and Kenneth Sawyer Goodman. 
In Masques of the East and West. Stage 
Guild. $1.50. 

Mediaeval masque in verse. 1 scene. 20m. 8 w. 
extras. Setting: an open space before a great 
cathedral, the facade and entrance of which should 
be on stage, to the right, a booth with steps. Cos- 
tumes: Mediaeval. Time: about an hour. Com- 
ment: Waldemar, the Red Wolf, in the absence of 
Rainald, becomes tyranical, and rules with an iron 
hand the fair city of Lavayne. He not only op- 
presses the guilds and withdraws charters, but at- 
tempts to make Rainald’s wife, Yosebel, his bride; 
claiming that Rainald has fallen in battle. Mean- 
while Rainald returns unannounced to his fair city 
on the wedding day, and plans Waldemar’s destruc- 
tion. By means of a miracle play, depicting the 
sadness of Lavayne, Rainald accomplishes his task, 
kills the tyrant and steps forward as the master 


6 


PLAYS FOR: OUT-DOOR THEATRES 


Rainald and the Red Wolf—Continued 


Sanctuary. Percy MacKaye. 


and savior of his city. A splendid play to introduce 
a large cast, with a variety of very good parts. 
Interest is sustained throughout by good situation 
and held by a dramatic climax. The costumes 
of the period—fourteenth century—add greatly to the 
pictorial value of the play. Royalty: $10 when ad- 
mission is charged, $5 when no admission 1s 
charged. Swartout. Also Stage Guild. 


Rising of the Moon. Lady Gregory. Jn Seven 


Short Plays. Putnam’s. $2. Also i 
Dickinson, Chief Contemporary Drama- 
tists, first ser. Houghton Mifflin Company. 
$5. School ed. $3.50. 


Comedy in prose. I act. 
space, prceintehie a river bank. At the rear a 
wharf, indicated by posts and chains. Lights very 
dim throughout, to give the impression of moon- 
light. Costumes: peasant’s costumes and two police- 
man’s uniforms. Time: about fifteen minutes. Com- 
ment: a policeman on watch for an escaped patriot 
prisoner, meets and converses with his man, who 
appears as a ballad maker. The ballad maker so 
plays on the feelings of the policeman, and his 
staunch love for Ireland, that he is allowed to 
escape. The dialogue and characterization are €x- 
cellent. There are several Irish ballads introduced 
that are to be sung. Royalty: $5. French. 


Frederick A. 


4m, Setting: an open 


Stokes Company. $1.50. 

Bird masque in verse. 10 short scenes. 6 per- 
sons. extras. (all parts may be taken by either men 
or women) Setting: a sylvan glade representing a 
bird sanctuary, with nest boxes of bark in the trees. 
At one side there is a pool or bird bath. Costumes: 
symbolical—for Pan the usual costume, for poet, 
a robe, for the bird spirit, filmy draped costume 
etc., The bird costumes give wide scope for origi- 
nality and artful arrangement. The color prints 
in the text should be of great help. Time: about 
one and a quarter hours. Comment: written for the 
dedication of the bird sanctuary at Meridan, New 
Hampshire, a masque for which special music has 
been composed by F. C. Converse, published by the 
H. W. Gray Company New York. The theme is 
a plea for the preservation of bird life and gives 
a vivid picture of the bird hunter, a cold hearted 
merciless person, in his killing of beautiful birds. 
There is a theme also that has to do with mortals. 
A very charming masque which requires a truly 
beautiful setting. Royalty: Communicate with the 
author, at the Harvard Club, N.Y.C. 


Slave With Two Faces (The). Mary Caro- 


lyn Davies. Arens. 35¢c. 

Avparamaticonallesonry Ai prose... i cach... toms 
2 girls. Setting: a wood through which runs a 
path. Costumes: the two girls wear peasant cos- 
tumes with crowns. Time: quite short, not fifteen 
minutes. Comment: two girls meet ‘“‘Life, the slave 
with two faces,” on the highway. The first girl, 
who is very brave, has instructed the second to 
face life unflinchingly and to demand what she ex- 
pects of him, but never to bow or humble herself. 
The second girl, however, is won over by life’s 
flattery and each time realizes her mistake when 
it is too late, until at last; life leaves her dead by 
the roadside. The brave woman, however, who 
faces him in her fashion finds Life a fawning slave. 
Royalty: $5. Swartout. 


Spreading the News. Lady Gregory. In 


Seven Short Plays. Putnam’s. $2. Also 
in QOne-Act Plays by Modern Authors, 
compiled by Helen Louise Cohen. Har- 


court, Brace and Company. $2.25. 

Irish farce comedy in prose. 1 act. 7 m. 3 w. 
Setting: the outskirts of a fair, with an apple stall 
in the foreground, set may be a street scene or a 
wooded place. Costumes: Irish peasant, modern, 
one uniform for a policeman and dignified morning 
dress for a magistrate. Time: thirty to thirty-five 
minutes. Comment: play illustrates the effect of 
gossip in a little town, where there is a new magis- 
trate, over-zealous in his pursuit of criminals. He 
has not long to wait, as gossip provides him with 


the flight of one man with another's wife—and even 
a murder. The reappearance of the supposedly 
married man satisfies the towns people, but not the 
magistrate. Good dialogue. The Irish dialect for 
those unaccustomed to it, should not be forced, as 
the manner in which the dialogue is written, car- 
ries as dialect if read quite simply. Royalty: $5. 
French. 


Sunny Morning (A). Serafin and Joaquin 


Alvarez Quintero. In Fifty Contemporary 
One-Act Plays, compiled by Shay and 


Loving. D. Appleton and Company. $5. 

Comedy in prose, translated from the Spanish by 
Lucretia Xavier Floyd. 1 act. 2m. 2 w. Set- 
ting: a park in Madrid, a_bench at right. Cos- 
tumes: modern Spanish. Time: twenty minutes. 
Comment: Dona Laura, a refined old lady of 
seventy, and her young maid Petra, come to the 
park as is their custom to feed the birds. Don 
Gozalo a very old gentleman, gouty and impatient 
enters with his servant, Juanito. Don Gonzalo’s. 
bench is already occupied and he is forced to ap- 
proach Dona Laura’s. She greets him graciously, 
he answers her gruffly. As their conversation pro- 
gresses, each discovers in the other, the love of his 
youth, although neither one will admit the recog- 
nition. They part on the best of terms and we 
know that they are to meet again and again. The 
character parts are finely drawn and should be well 
cast to ensure the sparkling comedy and charming 
picture the authors have given us. Royalty: $10. 
Society of Spanish Authors, Room 62, 20 Nassau 
Street, New York. 


Tents of the Arabs (The). Lord Dunsany. 


In Plays of Gods and Man.” Johny: 
Luce and Company. $1.75. 
Oriental drama. in prose. “2 -acts:2.5 0a, enews 


Setting: outside the gate of a city of Thakama. 
Gate should be practical. Costumes: oriental of 
any period as the year is uncertain, imaginative. 
Time: about forty-five minutes. Comment: the 
king, tired of his duties, longs for the peace of the 
desert, and wishes to be forever free of his kingly 
life. Bel-Narb, a camel driver, who strangely re- 
sembles the king, hates the desert and longs to be 
king. Fate permits them to change places and 
strangely enough, each is satisfied with his lot. 
The play gives opportunity for attractive and 
imaginative costumes and setting, while the beauty 
of the lines and the strange philosophy of the two 
men create an atmosphere truly eastern. Eznarza, 
the gypsy of the desert, is a vivid role full of color 
and beauty. The play is suited to high school age. 
Royalty: $10. Curtis Brown. 


Told an a Chinese Garden. Constance Wil- 


cox. Jn Told in a Chinese Garden and 
Four Other Fantastic Plays. Henry 
Holt and Company. $1.50. 


Fantastic comedy in verse and prose. 1 act. 

m. 3 w. extras. Setting: Chinese garden, for 
which any garden may suffice. Large flat gray 
silhouettes to represent lanterns and pagoda orna- 
ments could be easily made and placed about. A 
path bordered with bright flowers leads to the 
garden. Costumes: picturesque Chinese. Time: 
about forty minutes. Comment: a young noble- 
man disguised as a gardener, defeats the wicked 
scheming of his uncle who has stolen his estates 
and arranged to marry his lady love. There is 
good comedy in the attitude of the young girl’s 
governesses and the songs and all the quotations 
are Old Chinese. The play is very effective. | 
Royalty: $5. Author, Madison, Conn. 


Traitor (The). Percival Wilde. Jn Dawn 


and Other One-Act Plays of Life To- 


day. Little, Brown and Company. $1.50. 

Drama in prose. 1 act. 8 m. Setting: the mili- 
tary tent of a Colonel, in an open space in South 
Africa, at the time of the Boor war. Costumes: 
officer’s uniforms, English of the time of the Boor 
war. The period might be changed, however as the 
action could take place any time. Time: one-half 
hour. Comment: it is known to the Colonel that 
there is a traitor in camp, so he, with the aid of 
Lieutenant Edwards, determines to bring him to 


PLAYS FOR OUT-DOOR. THEATRES 7 


justice. They concoct a story making Edwards a 
traitor, and then call in the other officers to de- 
termine his fate. The Colonel trusts to his know- 
ledge of human nature, that the truly guilty one 
will expose himself by the way he casts his vote, 
that is that he will not vote against a man in a 
similar position. The traitor falls into the trap 
and betrays himself. The situation is strikingly 
dramatic. Can be played by boys of high school 
age. Royalty: $5. If higher royalty is paid for 
any other one act play on the same bill, then a 
like amount is required. Author, c/o American 
Dramatists, 148 West 45th Street, N.Y 


Two Slatterns and a King, a Moral Inter- 
lude. Edna St. Vincent Millay. D. Apple- 


ton and Company. 50c. 

Morality play in a comedy manner. 1 act. 2 m. 
2w. Setting: any simple garden space. Costumes: 
the king in royal robes; Chance may be dressed 
as Puck; Tidy and Slut in peasant costumes, the 
one very neat, the other in a turmoil of disorder. 
Time: about ten minutes. Comment: Chance, the 
Vice expounds the moral that ‘‘He who is o’er 
hasty in his decision, will by Chance be called a 
fool.”” The foolish king who is o’er hasty finds 
himself married to Slut, when he might have had 
Tidy. The play is quite amusing, short, and will 
please grownups as well as children. A quite suc- 
cessful little play to open a program. Rovyalty: $10 
first performance; $5 thereafter. D. Appleton and 
Company. 


Wonder Hat (The). Ben Hecht and Ken- 
neth Sawyer Goodman. Jn Stage Guild 


Plays, No. 3. Shay. (Sold by D. Apple- 


ton and Company). 50c. 
Harlequinade in prose. 1 act. 3 m. 2 w. Set- 


ting: a park, by moonlight, with a fountain center— 
backed by a low wall. Space should be allowed 
between the fountain and the wall, for the actors 
to pass through. Costumes: conventional costumes 
for Harlequin, Pierrot and Columbine; Punchin- 
ello, the old vender, in a suit of gay colored tatters 
and ribbons, with a great broad brimmed, high 
crowned hat; Margot in a trim costume with full 
knee-length skirt, cap and apron. Time: about 
twenty minutes. Comment: this charming farce or 
fantasy, tells of the tangled loves of Pierrot and 
Harlequin. The old vender, Punchinello, by means 
of the Wonder Hat, which renders Harlequin in- 
visible and the magic slipper, which draws all men 
to Columbine, causes both joy and consternation. 
The play sparkles with good comedy and the five 
parts are rather equally divided. Sophisticated 
speeches give the play a most naive effect. Royalty: 
$10 when admission is charged; $5 when no ad- 
mission is charged. Swartout. Also Stage Guild. 


X-O, a Night of the Trojan War. John 


Drinkwater. In Pawns (4). 
Mifflin Company. $1.50. 

Tragedy in verse. 4 scenes. 6 m. Setting: 
an open space before Troy, with a Grecian tent in 
the foreground and the walls of Troy in the back- 
ground. <A walled garden would serve well for the 
two changes necessary. Costumes: period, Greek 
classic, warrior’s. dress. Time: about fifteen 
minutes. Comment: a short but powerful tragedy 
of the horrors of war among peace loving men. 
Two Greeks in their camp and two Trojans in theirs 
philosophize. At midnight one of each group sets 
out for the camp of the enemy; kills the one he 
finds there and returns only to find his comrade 
fallen. An effective play in beautiful verse. Diffi- 
cult as it requires good acting. Royalty: $5. Curtis 
Brown. 


Houghton 


LONG 


Achilles in Scyros. Robert Bridges. In 


Poetical Works, vol. 3. Scribner’s. 

Dramatic poem in blank verse. 1 act. 5 m. 2 w. 
extras, chorus etc. Setting: in the palace garden in 
the island of Scyros. Costwmes: Greek classic. 
Time: about two hours. Comment: in the pro- 
logue, Thetus, Poseidon’s daughter, tells of her 
earth-born son Achilles, whose fate was to be either 
a long and peaceful life or death-untimely-glorious- 
greatest among the Greeks. He chooses the latter, 
but for love of his mother consents to live at Scyros 
disguised as the maiden Pyrrha. Here, Ulysses, 
searches him out, as Achilles alone can lead the 
Greeks victorious. Achilles deciares his love for 
Deidamia, the daughter of the king of Scyros, and 
that his future shall be according to her wish. She 
chooses for him the glorious fate and commands 
him to go forth against Troy, which indeed has 
always been his secret desire. The play might be 
done entirely by girls. Royalty: Apply to the pub- 
lisher, Smith Elder, London. 


Alcade, or the Mayor of Zalamea. De la 
Barco Pedro Calderon. Jn Eight Dramas, 
trans., E. Fitzgerald. Macmillan Com- 
pany. $2.40. 

Romantic comedy in verse. 3 acts. 8 m. 3 w. 
extras. Setting: several exterior scenes, and one 
interior which may readily be adapted to an out 
door stage. Furniture should suggest the period. 
Costumes: Spanish, late sixteenth century. Time: 
a full evening. Comment: a comedy of Spanish 
military life in the late sixteenth century, full of 
movement and tense situations. A wealthy farmer 
is host to a band of soldiers who annoy his beauti- 
ful daughter. He is elected mayor just in time to 
punish the young dandies. He imprisons a soldier 
and is challenged by an officer, as to his right to 
pronounce the sentence on an enlisted man. The 
king enters and is so impressed by the mayor’s 
argument in the affair that he declares him the 
“Mayor of Zalamea” forever. Royalty: None. 


Alcestis (The). Euripides. Gilbert Mur- 
ray, trans. Oxford University Press. goc. 
There is also a version arranged for girls’ 
schools by Elsie Fogerty. W. H. Baker 
Company. 35¢. 

Drama in blank verse. 1 scene. 6m. 2 w. 
2 children. extras. Setting: an open space with an 
ancient castle in the background. Costumes: Greek 
classic. Time: a full evening. Comment: this play 
written in 438 B.C. can scarcely be called a 
tragedy, due to its seemingly happy ending. It is 
modeled after the satyr play, which dates back to 
a period before Aeschylus. In brief the story is 
as follows—Admetus is granted freedom from im- 
pending death, on the condition that he will find 
someone to take his place. His wife, Alcestis, con- 
sents, in order that her children may not be left 
fatherless. She extracts from her husband the 
promise that he will not re-marry, sinks and to 
all appearances dies. While she is lying dead, 
Heracles, a very jovial friend comes to the house 
to make merry. The husband does not tell 
him of the sorrow that has come to his home, but 
Heracles learns the truth and attempts to restore 
the life of Alcestis. He struggles with Death and 
robs him of his prey, and brings the wife back to 
the world of life. In sharp contrast to Admetus, 
passionate, romantic and unconsciously insincere, 
is his wife, simple and homely, but with a character 
pre-eminently beautiful. Royalty: None. 


Alexander and Campaspe. John Lyly. In 
Representative English Comedies edited 
by Charles Mills Gayley. Macmillan. 
Bivols, €a.:$2.50, Vol. I. 


Arraignment of 


Arrow Maker. 


PEAYS 


Comedy in prose. 5 acts. 24 m. 3 w. Setting. 
an open court where several prisoners are_ held 
captive. Costumes: Greek, Hellenistic period. Time: 
as written the play would last about two hours but 
it should be cut to one-half that length. Comment: 
this comedy, Elizabethan has a Greek plot of some 
value. If properly staged it should have pictorial 
appeal. Alexander the Great is attracted to Cam- 
paspe, a Theban Captive, but with great magnanim- 
ity of spirit, gives her up to the painter Appelles, 
who loves her, and whom she loves. There are 
many attractive scenes in which Diogenes and 
other famous men appear. Good comedy brightens 
every scene. The cast might be all girls. The 
play dates from 1584. Royalty: None. 


Antigone. Sophocles. Everyman Edition, 


trans., Sir George Young. Dutton. 80c.; 
Prof. J. E, Harry. De Appleton and Com- 


pany. $1.25. (Several other editions). 
Greek tragedy in blank verse. 1 scene. 5 m. 
3 w. extras, chorus, guards and attendants. 1 boy. 
Setting: before the royal palace at Thebes in the 
early morning. Costumes: period, Greek classic. 
Time: about one and a quarter hours. Comment: 
this effective Greek tragedy may be played by an 
entire cast of women. It dates from 440 B.C. 
After the death of Polyneikes, Creon, king of 
Thebes, forbids the burial of the corpse under 
pain of death. Antigone, sister of the dead Poly- 
neikes, unnoticed by the guards, scatters dust over 


_ his body and pours the funeral libations. The 


king bids his men undo the work and watch for 
the culprit. Antigone is captured and pleads for 
her defense, the eternal laws of kinright. She is 
condemned to death. Her lover, Haemon the 
king’s son, vows to share her doom. Tiresias, a 
blind prophet, fortells dire woe for Creon’s family, 
if the unholy prohibition of the burial rite for 
Polyneikes is not withdrawn. The king hastens 
to have the corpse buried, and then departs to 
release Antigone. She, meanwhile, has hanged 
herself. Haemon mad with grief, attempts to kill 
his father, and then takes his own life. Eurydice, 
Creon’s queen, hearing the dreadful news, slays 
herself, and the house of Creon is brought to dust. 
Royalty: None. 


Paris (The). George 
Peele. Dutton. 85c. Routledge, London. 
(And others). 


Pastoral in verse in 1 scene. 17 m. 15 w. extras. 
Setting: any sylvan scene. Costumes: Greek Classic. 
Time: should play about two hours. Comment: 
Peele has dramatized the apologue of the Judg- 
ment of Paris, the play derives its title the ‘‘Ar- 
raignment of Paris’? from the fact that at the close 
of the play, the Trojan shepherd is brought before 
Jove to answer at trial for having adjudged the 
“Apple of Discord’? to Venus. The play is masque: 
like in form, based on the story of Paris, it closes 
with a compliment to Queen Elizabeth. In content 
it displays the “brilliant wit and remarkable ability 
for novel invention of Peele.’’ History: the play 
dates from 1584. Source: Alexander Dyce’s edition 
of the Dramatic and Poetical works of Robert 
Greene and George Peele. Royalty: None. 


Mary Austin. Houghton 


Mifflin Company. $1.35. 

Drama in prose. 3 acts. 7m. 9w. Setting: a 
clearing in a rocky forest, action is supposed to 
take place in the Sierra foot-hills. The same scene 
can be adapted to the three acts, a wickings, a war 
counsel and an Indian camp. Costumes: American 
Indian. Time: a full evening. Comment: this play 
is long and rather difficult, but it has fine literary 
quality and effective atmosphere. The author has 
lived almost the life of an Indian and has extensive 
knowledge of his lore. The theme is the story 
of the love of the noble Chisera, or medicine 


10 


Arrow Maker—Continued 


woman of the tribe, for a deceitful and treacherous 
young Indian leader, who for his own gain, betrays 
her love, and marries the Chief’s daughter. It is 
the opinion of the tribe that the Chisera cares 
nothing for domestic life, while the desire for a 
home and children of her own, neither of which 
she can have, embitters her. She, however, forgets 
herself in the end, for the triumph of her people, 
and like. a god leads them to victory. A powerful 
play, if carefully cast and directed. Royalty: 
Schools $15, when admission is charged, no royalty 
when no admission is charged but the program 
must carry the words, “By permission of the au- 
thor.”’ $25, when given by amateur societies. 
Author, National Arts Club, N.Y.C. 


As You Like It. William Shakespeare. 
Temple Edition. Dutton. $1.25; Oxford 
Edition (Gordon). Oxford Press. 7oc. 
(Many others). 

Comedy in verse. 5 acts. 17 m. 4 w. extras. Set- 
ting: calls for Oliver’s house, Duke of Frederick’s 
court and the forest of Arden. The open air stage 
should be a large one, and suitable furniture used 
for the court and rustic scenes. Costumes: Eliza- 
~ bethan court costumes, shepherd and rustic costumes. 
Time: a full evening. Comment: the plot of the 
play centers about Orlando, much abused by his 
brother Oliver; and Rosalind the daughter of a 
Duke banished by her uncle, Frederick. When 
Frederick finally banished his niece, his own 
daughter chose to go with her. They are accom- 
panied in the Forest of Arden by the witty jester. 
Touchstone. Here also Orlando has taken refuge 
but he does not recognize Rosalind in her shep- 
herd’s attire. Orlando rescues his brother from 
death, and the brother in turn forgets his grievance 
toward him. When Oliver meets Rosalind’s com- 
panion, Celia he falls in love with her. Orlando 
recognises Rosalind and they are reunited. The 
wicked uncle, Frederick, turns to religion and sur- 
renders to his brother and niece their rightful 
heritage. Shakespeare has turned Arden into an 
Arcadia and this play is considered by Hazlitt “the 
ee ideal of any of Shakespeares plays.” Royalty: 

one. 


Canterbury Pilgrims. Percy MacKaye. Mac- 
millan Company. $1.50 

Romantic comedy in verse. 4 acts. 46 m. 7 w. 
extras. Setting: calls for two interiors and two 
exteriors, which can be simply adapted to a large 
open air stage. The settings are necessarily elabo- 
rate and rather difficult if any attempt is made to 
do them after the modern manner. The play on 
the other hand might be staged with strict sim- 
plicity, relying on the costumes and the great 
number of characters for the proper atmosphere. 


Costumes: period, fourteenth century. Time: a~ 


full evening. Comment: a brilliant spectacle based 
on the story of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In 
addition to the original number of characters, the 
author has added probably twenty-five or more. 
The play is difficult on account of its length, large 
cast and type of costume etc., but. should be very 
effective if properly presented. Royalty: Communi- 
cate with the author, at the Harvard Club, N.Y:C. 


Chinese Lantern (The). Laurence Hous- 
man. Sidgwick and Jackson. 3s. 6d. 


Chinese fairy tale in prose. 3 acts. II m. 3 w. 
Setting: an artistic studio which may be adapted to 
a gay outdoor scene with bamboo houses, which 
may be constructed as booths; fairly difficult to ex- 
ecute. Costumes: Chinese. Time: a full evening. 
Comment: Mu Mu a charming little Chinese girl is 
betrothed to the son of her foster parents, who is 
a lazy lout of a grocer boy. The stars decree that 
in three years time Mu Mu is to marry the greatest 
artist in the world. The grocer boy is at once 
made to study art, which causes him great dis- 
pleasure, and he blames Mu Mu for it all. Tikipu, 
the general drudge, is a very talented boy. He is 
befriended by Wiowani the spirit of an old master, 
The appointed three years pass and just as the 
Poor little Mu Mu is preparing for her wedding 
the spirit brings Tikipu back from his realm in 
time to save her and marry her. The foster parents 
are grieved indeed, but their son at least is happy 


Christopher Columbus. 


PLAYS: FOR OUTDOOR THEATRES 


as he would rather be just a grocer boy. The play 
is suited to high school age and might be played 
by a cast of all girls. Royalty: $25. French. 


Alice Johnstone 
Walker. Henry Holt Company. $1.75. 


Historical drama in prose. 4 acts. 15 m. 2 Ww. 
2 children. extras. Setting: calls for two interiors, 
but as a pageant play they can be simply set with 
very little furniture. Costumes: period, fifteenth 
century, court, sailor and Indian costumes. Time: 
a full evening. Comment: the story of Christopher 
Columbus, his struggles and his ultimate triumph, 
told with dramatic feeling in a well constructed 
play. The closing scene is a pageant spectacle of 
the tremendous ovation given Columbus on his 
return from the New World. It does not include 
the sad story of the latter years of his life. A 
good play for high schools. Royalty: None. 


Comus. John Milton. In any of the com- 


plete collections of Milton’s works. An 
edition with notes, costume sketches and 
pictures, arranged by Lucy Chater is pub- 
lished by the W. H. Baker Company. 35c. 


Masque in verse. 3 scenes. 4 m. 2 w. extras. 
Setting: although the play calls for a palace interior 
and a court, it is most successful in a simple out- 
door setting. By means of black-outs furniture can 
be set to suggest a palace and court. Costumes: 
period, the play is usually done in Greek classic 
costumes. Time: fifty minutes. Comment: the lady 
venturing too far into the wood, becomes separated 
from her brothers and meets Comius, the son of 
Circe, disguised as a shepherd. He promises to 
take her to a cottage where she will be safe for 
the night. The brothers, greatly perturbed, search 
for her. They meet Thyris, the attendant spirit, 
who tells them that their sister has been led away 
by the sorcerer, Comus. The next scene finds the 
unhappy lady at the castle of Comus. The brothers 
come and rescue her, but unfortunately, Comus 
escapes and leaves her under his spell. However, 
through the powers of the water nymph, Sabrino, 
the lady is restored to her brothers. The masque 
first produced at Ludlow Castle, 1634. Royalty: 

one. 


Daphne, or the Pipes of Pan. Marguerite 


Merington. Century Company. o.p. 

Pastoral in verse with chorus. 3 acts. 9 m. 6 w. 
extras. Setting: pastoral scene in Arcadia, a gar- 
den stage with a fountain and low seat at center, 
with knolls to the left and right to represent dis- 
tant hills. For the second and third scenes a few 
slight changes are necessary to represent the domain 
of Gumbo, a Fiji king. Costumes: are important 
and should be unique. While originality and 
ingenuity may be trusted to in the majority of 
cases, there are helpful suggestions in the illustra- 
tions of the book. Time: about two hours. Com- 
ment: the author terms her play three acts of sing- 
ing nonsense. While wholly impossible in story, 
the play has several attractive features. There are 
many comedy lyrics, to be sung by both the chorus 
of shepherds and the major characters. Suited to 
a small choral club. The story tells of the adora- 
tion of two men, a pedant and a poet, for Daphne. 
She however chooses Gumbo the Fiji, the elemental 
man. If there is any objection to Gumbo playing 
the part as a Fiji, the difficulty may be overcome 
by making him just an elemental man, a wild man. 
Royalty: No information available. 


Electra. Euripides. Trans., Gilbert Murray, 


Oxford University Press. 9oc. 

Tragedy in blank verse. 1 scene. 7 m. 2 w. 
extras. Setting: represents a hut on a desolate 
mountain side, the river Inachus in the distance. 
Costumes: Greek classic. Time: about two hours. 
Comment: the legend upon which the story of 
Electra is based narrates, how the son and daughter 
of the murdered king Agamemnon, slew, in due 
course of revenge and at the command of Apollo, 
their guilty mother Clytemnestra and her paramour, 
Aegisthus. The legend as treated by Sophocles, 
creates an heroic atmosphere; by Aeschylus, an at- 
mosphere of horror with an emotional religious 
wave as the antidote; and by Euripides, something 
beyond the thought of Aeschylus, for Euripides 


PLAYS FOR OUT-DOOR THEATRES 11 


shows us man, commanded by the gods to do evil; 
not gods infallible, but demons of old superstition 
acting upon sore-be-set man. [Euripides with his 
knowledge of human nature and his power of con- 
structing scenes dealing with intensity of emotion, 
gives us in Electra a powerful, well constructed 
play of real people. In the central figure, Electra, 
we have perhaps the greatest and the most _pro- 
foundly studied of Greek heroines. Royalty: None. 


Everyman. In several editions but now ob- 
tainable with other plays and interludes in 
the Everyman Edition. Dutton and Com- 


pany. 8oc. 

Moraltiy play in blank verse. 1 scene. i10 m. 
7 w. (might be played by entire cast of women) 
Setting: any simple exterior, with such properties 
and furniture as originality shall invent. Costumes: 
Everyman in fifteenth century costume, Death, a 
skeleton, relatives, fifteenth century; while Good 
Deeds, Strength, Beauty etc., may wear dresses 
modeled on Greek classic lines. Time: about one 
and one-half hours, depending upon length of music 
introduced. Comment: Everyman is considered 
the most impressive of the old morality plays, and 
has enjoyed great popularity. Written in the reign 
of Edward IV, it expounds the doctrine of the 
Church. Everyman, summoned before the tribunal 
of God to give an account of his life, invites all 
his worldly friends, Riches, Beauty, Fellowship and 
the Five senses to go with him. His Good Deeds, 
too weak to rise, summon Knowledge, who leads 
him to confession. Good Deeds with renewed 
strength gocs with him to the grave and beyond. 
The dignity of the play is even added to, by suit- 
able music, organ if possible. Royalty: None. 


Fan (The). Il Ventaglio, Carlo Goldoni. 
Yale University Dramatic Assoc. Version, 
Baker. 60c. 


Comedy in prose. 3 acts. 4 m. 10 w. Setting: 
a village scene near Milan. An open terrace to 
the left, small booths about to represent shops and 
houses, in short a street scene. Costumes: eigh- 
teenth century, Italian. Time: a full evening. 
Comment: this play dating from 1763, is a solidly 
constructed comedy, and is the play of Goldoni’s 
most frequently given in English. The story relates 
the misunderstandings that arise over the gift of a 
fan. A gentleman bought it for the Lady Candida, 
and his first mistake was to deny the fact to the 
shop-keeper. He then gave it to the lady’s servant 
to give to her mistress, and amusing complications 
arose. Then matters grew from bad to worse, 
until at last they seemed almost beyond repair but 
fortunately were re-adjusted to the complete satis- 
faction of everyone. The play is difficult but worth 


while, and has many splendid comedy situations. ° 


Goldoni’s gift of rare skill in handling many char- 
acters at one time, without sacrificing their person- 
ality or hindering the progress of the secene is 
especially noticeable in this play. While there have 
been several translations the one by McKenzie, for 
the Yale Dramatic Assoc., is recommended. 
Royalty: Apply to the Yale University Dramatic 
Assoc., Yale Sta., New Haven, Conn. or Baker. 


Foresters. Alfred Tennyson. In Complete 
Works of Tennyson, Macmillan Company. 
$2.50. 

Poetic, romantic play. 4 acts. 12 m. 3 w. many 
extras. Setting: an open space which represents in 
turn, a garden, a banquet hall, a forest glade and 
another forest scene. Large banquet tables for the 
second scene are necessary. Costumes: period, 
fifteenth century; rustic costumes for foresters, 
court costumes for the others. Time: a full even- 
ing. Comment: a poetic version of the Robin Hood 
legend. Maid Marion, bethrothed of Robin Hood, 
is greatly annoyed by Prince John, who in the ab- 
sence of his brother, Richard the Lion-Hearted, has 
become despotic. He outlaws Robin and forces 
Maid Marion to seek safety with the foresters. 
He has a well defined plan to marry Marion to 
the Sheriff, but in reality means to capture her 
for himself. Richard returns from his crusade 
just in time to stop the wicked plan. The king 
punishes the traitors and sanctions the marriage of 
Robin and Marion. The play as written should be 
cut and adapted for performance. Special music 
has been written for the production by Sir Arthur 
Sullivan. Royalty: None. 


Iphigenia in Tauris. 


Gammer Gurton’s Needle. Early English. 


In Percy Reprints No. 2. Houghton Mif- 
flin Company, $1.50; also in Vol. 2 of 
Specimens of Pre-Shakespearean Drama, 
Manly. Ginn and Company. 2 vols. 
ea. $2.20; and a modern adaptation by 
Colin Campbell Clements. French. 35c. 


An early English comedy in verse. 5 acts and 
a prologue. 6 m. 4 w. Setting: a village scene, 
a street, sometimes near the house of Gammer 
Gurton, sometimes near that of Dame Chat. Cos- 
tumes: period, early sixteenth century. Time: a 
full evening. Comment: this play is regarded as 
the earliest English comedy, and although slight 
in plot it is of original invention. The language 
is often coarse and the characters all talk in the 
same unelevated strain, which in the older editions 
allows considerable cutting. Diccon, the villain, is 
a modified type of the person, Vice, in the earlier 
plays. In brief the story tells of the loss of Gam- 
mer Gurton’s needle, while mending her servant’s 
breeches. Diccon accuses the gossip, Dame Chat, 
of the theft and a heated scene follows. Peace is 
restored when Hodge is pricked by the needle and 
finds it where first it fell. The chief interest of 
the play lies in its comedy value. The edition pub- 
lished by French is quite suited to high school 
production. Royalty: None. 


Harlequinade. Granville Barker and Clay- 


ton Calthrop. 
pany. $1.50. 
Comedy or as the authors name it, “An Excur- 
sion,” in prose. 5 scenes. A varying cast with two 
principals; a man, Uncle Edward and a girl, Alice; 
others in the cast (which may readily double) 
include Mercury, Charon, Hipponax etc. Setting: 
artistic conventional setting adapted to out-of-doors, 
should be kept quite simple, very little furniture 
necessary. Costumes: should be well studied but 
are helpfully described in the text; Alice, as a 
Whistler portrait, silver gray frock and white 
apron; Uncle Edward, black suit and square toed 
shoes; other characters, Greek costumes, eighteenth 
century costumes and modern costumes. Time: one 
and one-half to two hours. Comments: Uncle 
Edward and Alice set out to give a Harlequinade. 
Their story begins with the gods at the River Styx 
and traces the ‘Spirit of Comedy” through the 
ages in a whimsical manner. The characters ap- 
pear in an Italian setting in the fifteenth century, 
again in England in the eighteenth century, and 
finally in modern New York City. The play is 
suited to high school age and if well acted, should 
be quite successful as it is very cleverly con- 
structed. Royalty: Apply to Curtis Brown Ltd. 


Little, Brown and Com- 


Hycke Scorner. In Specimens of Pre- 


Shakespearean Drama, vol. 1, edited by 
John Manly, Ginn and Company. $2.20. 
(And others). 


Morality play or moral interlude in verse. 1 
scene. 6 characters. Sctting: a grove. Costumes: 
Hycke Scorner may wear a costume of the dandy 
of the fifteenth century, other costumes modeled on 
classic lines. Time: one and a quarter hours. Com- 
ment: one of the characters must be a man, the 
other parts may be played by either men or women. 
The play deals with the type of man, who in the 
emptiness of his heart and his blasé knowledge of 
the world, loves to scoff at religion; or the com- 
bat of Pity against Free-will and Imagination. 
Perseverance and Contemplation defeat the enemy 
in behalf of Pity. The addition of the travelled 
libertine, Hycke Scorner, is very advantageous to 
the interest of the play. Royalty: None. 


Euripides. Trans., 
Gilbert Murray. Oxford University Press. 
9oc. 

Romantic play beginning in a tragic atmosphere 
but closing happily. 1 scene. 2 w. 5 m. Extras 
(chorus of Women). Setting: a great barbaric 
temple at right stage, a desolate sea coast indicated 
at the rear. Costumes: Greek classic. Time: two 
hours. Comment: according to the myth as treated 
in this play, Agamemnon, when about to set sail 
against Troy, was bound by weather at Aulis. The 
interpretation of this delay was, that Artemis de- 


iZ 


Iphigenia in Tauris—C ontinued 

manded the sacrifice of Iphigenia, who was then 
at home with Clytemnestra. Iphigenia was sent for 
but was saved at the last moment by Artemis, who 
set her in Tauris as her priestess. Her duties as 
priestess caused her to sacrifice all strangers who 
came to Tauris. She waited half in horror, half 
in a rage of revenge, for Greeks to come. Of the 
first two who came, her brother, Orestes, was one. 
She is torn by a piteous hatred of the Greeks 
which soon breaks down and she is ready to die 
for them. By strategem, she is rescued trom the 
island. This, as all of the Greek classic plays, is 
difficult to do well. The role of Iphigenia should 
be assigned to a very capable actress. The play 
is subtle, ever changing, full of movement and 
poignancy. The chorus lyrics are very beautiful 
and are usually the very soul of Euripidean 
tragedy. Royalty: None. 


Lady of the Weeping Willow Tree. Stuart 
Walker. In More Portmanteau Plays. 
D. Appleton and Company. $2.50. 


Japanese fantasy in prose. 3 acts. 2 m. 4 w. 
Setting: an open grove to represent, in acts one 
and three, a Japanese garden, with a willow tree 
at right and a little house at left; and in act two, 
a bamboo glade. Costumes: Japanese. There are 
two photographic plates in the book which should 
prove helpful. Time: two hours. Comment: a 
pleasing fairy tale in which the characters seem to 
experience the whole range of human emotion. The 
Glaki, an evil spirit, living in the sixth hell, must 
not die in that state or else he will never regain 
life. His alternative is to feed on human misery, 
or to find perfect faith, as either one will insure 
for him, advancement to the fifth hell. In each 
of his attempts to create misery, he fails and the 
result is happiness. A charming love story is 
woven about Riki, a poet and Aoyagi, the lady of 
the weeping willow. The theme is treated in a 
poetic manner, and requires a certain amount of 
experience for a finished production. The parts 
might be taken entirely by girls. Royalty: $15. 
Author, 304 Carnegie Hall, N.Y.C. 


Lady Patricia. Rudolph Besier. Duffield 
and Company. o.p. 


Comedy of English society life, in prose. 3 acts. 
6 m. 3 w. Setting: rather difficult—for the first two 
acts, the stage slightly raised represents a platform 
built around an oak tree. To the right a summer 
house, a few branches higher. Garden furniture. 
Act three, a garden at the vicarage. Costumes: 
modern, should be very smart. Time: a full even. 
ing. Comment: a highly amusing satire of English 
society life. <A care free woman of a particularly 
romantic type, imagines herself in love with a 
charming young Englishman. Her husband imag- 
ines himself in love with a very young girl, the 
daughter of the vicar. The situation becomes far- 
cical. The two young people find the way out, 
and solve the difficulty by falling in love with 
each other. The play is quite sophisticated and re- 


quires skillful treatment. Royalty: Apply to Froh- 
man. 


Laughter of the Gods (The). Lord Dun- 


sany. In Plays of Gods and Man. John 
W. Luce and Company. $1.75. 

‘ Tragedy in prose. 3 acts. 9 m. 4 w. extras. Set- 
ting: a jungle city of Thek, which gives the pro- 
ducer wide scope in suggesting an imaginative court 
in a purely fanciful land. Costumes: eastern, 
oriental, the period suggested by the author is the 
time of the decadence of Babylon. Time: about one 
and one-half hours. Comment: the subjects of 

ing Karnos, for their own pleasure, attempt to 
persuade the king to return to Barbut-ed-Sharnak, 
the greatest city of the world. They accordingly 
persuade the prophet, or “voice of the gods,” to 
give a false prophecy, and retribution follows. The 
play is highly imaginative and Ttequires careful 
handling. Royalty: $10. Curtis Brown. 


Lost Pleiad. Jane Dransfield. James T. 
White Company. pa. 75c.; clo. $1.50, 
Fantasy in verse. 2 acts. 10m. 8 w. extras. 


Setting: broad clearing j 
Ng : ) g in a wooded place, banked 
on either side by rocks, with a poll at one side. 


Midsummer 


PLAYS’ FOR (OUTDOOR “THEATRES 


Entrances to left and right. Costumes: Greek 
classic. Time: about one hour. Comment: the tale 
of Merope, one of the Pleiads, who forsook her 
heavenly sisters and sped to earth to marry the 
mortal Sisyphus, the first king of Argolis, who had 
already met her in a dream. When she reaches the 
earth she falls into the hands of his enemy Tolmid, 
but is rescued by her mother. Hermes, the mes- 
senger of high Zeus calls her to the heavens again, 
but she refuses. Meanwhile Sisyphus overcomes 
the enemy in battle and after the victory, finds 
Merope again who is content to live in this world 
as a mortal. This little play is beautiful and ef- 
fective and offers opportunity to introduce attrac- 
tive dances. Royalty: $15. Swartout. 


Night’s Dream. William 
Shakespeare. Temple Edition. Dutton, 
$1.25; Oxford Edition (Gordon). Oxford 
Press. 70c. (Many others). 


Romantic comedy in verse. 5 acts. 13 m. 8 w. 
extras. Setting: Athens and a woods near by. 
While this is probably the best of all the Shake- 
speare plays for out-of-doors, care should be taken 
that sufficient changes be made for the Athen’s 
scenes, so as not to be confused with or detract 
from the woods scenes. Costumes: Greek classic 
for court people, amusing peasant costumes modeled 
on Greek classic lines for Bottom and his compeers, 
fairy costumes for Titania’s court. Time: a full 
evening. Comment: this is one of the author’s 
most charming plays introducing fairy poetry to 
English literature, and a group of comedy figures 
far surpassing any previous one to the English 
stage. The story of the magic juice, which the 
mischievous Puck puts into the eyes of the helpless 
Athenians, and the consternation which follows is 
familiar to everyone. The play may be given in 
its entirety, or those scenes, which have to do with 
the “‘Lamentable tragedy of Pyramus and Thisbe,” 
may be given as a highly amusing burlesque; that 
is—Act one, scene two, entire; rehearsal in the 
wood, act three, scene one, ending with the speech 
“according to the cue;’”’ act four, scene four entire, 
and act five, scene one, beginning “enter Quince for 
the prologue,’’ omitting all interruptions and ending 
with the Bergo mask dance. This cut version plays 
about thirty minutes. Royalty: None. 


Much Ado About Nothing. William Shake- 


speare. Temple Edition. Dutton) sree: 
Oxford Edition. Oxford Press. 85c. (Many 
others). 


Comedy in verse. 5 acts. 14 m. 4 w. extras. 
Setting: Spanish in character, any out-door scene 
to which the necessary furniture and scenery may 
be added for the different scenes. May be very 
simple. Costumes: period, sixteenth century. Time: 
a full evening. Comment: Claudio arriving at the 
court of Leonato falls in love with Hero, his 
daughter and is accepted with favor. They are 
very happy but regret that Beatrice, her cousin, 
and Bendick, a moody young nobleman, quarrel so 
continuously. They set about to bring the two 
unhappy ones together and are successful. The 
mischievous Don John persuades Claudio that Hero 
is untrue to him and loves another. This breaks 
Hero’s heart. The arrest of two comically stupid 
officers reveals the truth of the whole matter, and 
Claudio is beside himself thinking that Hero has 
died. Leonato brings in Hero, disguised, marries 
her to Claudio and all are happy once more. The 
play dates from 1599. Royalty: None. 


Old Fortunatus. Thomas Dekker. Temple 


Dramatists. Dutton, 85c., and others. 

Morality masque in verse. 5 acts, 15 m. 7 w. 
Setting: may be simply treated to suggest, Cypress, 
Babylon and England. Costumes: Greek classic 
and Elizabethan. Time: a full evening. Com- 
ment: the author is a comic playwright, and this 
pleasant comedy is based on the ancient legend of 
Old Fortunatus and his purse, and depicts the 
triumph of Virtue over Vice and even over For- 
tune. The prologue and epilogue may be omitted. 
The masque shows Dekker’s genius for romance 
and his power to achieve the very highest in poetry. 
Royalty: None. 


Old Wive’s Tale (The). George Peele. Four 


Seas Co. $2. (And others). 


Pier os PORT OUTDOOR; DHEATRES i 


Play in prose. 1 scene. 19 m. 6 w. Setting: 
the story opens in a wood; immediately after the 
opening scene, the stage may be darkened to allow 
for the setting of the second. The lights coming 
on should disclose a cheery interior, suggested by 
a settle, table and stools, with a quaint fireplace 
and a well at either side. Costumes: rustic cos- 
tumes for the majority of men, that of a scorcerer, 
fairy and fantastic costumes for the others. Delia’s 
dress should suggest the Elizabethan. Severe 
scholastic gown for the Epilogue. Time: one and 
one-half hours. Comment: this play is particularly 
worthy of notice as Milton is supposed to have 
derived the plan of Comus from it. Three Rustics 
meet an old man in the woods, who takes them 
home to Madge, his wife, who receives them grac- 
iously. After the husband and one, Antic, have 
retired for the night, the old Madge tells the others 
a tale. The story is that of Delia who is bewitched 
by a sorcerer and the struggle on the part of her 
brothers and her lover to rescue her. All the char- 
acters come to life and enact the “Old Wives 
Tale,” making their entrances at the fireplace. 
The sorcerer is finally overcome. Delia is restored 
and morning comes to end the tale. The play 
shows the resourcefulness of Peele in orginality of 
source and outlook. It is altogether a delightful 
play. Royalty: In general there is no royalty for 
this play, but a special edition with helpful notes 
and arranged by Frank W. Cady may be obtained 
and is most practical for amateur use. For this 


edition a royalty of $10 is payable to the Four 
Seas Company. 


Pan and the Young Shepherd. Maurice 
Hewlett. John Lane Company. o.p. 


Pastoral in prose. 2 acts. 6 m. 10 w. extras. 
Setting: a simple pastoral scene to which such ac- 
cessories as booths, tables, chairs and a fountain, 
may be added to suggest such different places as 
a sheepfold, a cottage, a heath and the Tarn of the 
Seven Sisters. Costumes: peasant costumes with 
full skirts and stiff bodices for the village women, 
rustic costumes for the men, fairy costumes for the 
seven sisters, and a grotesque mask and _ wild 
animal’s skin for Pan. Time: two hours. Com- 
ment: the story in brief tells of the love of Neanias 
a young shepherd for Aglaé, one of the daughters 
of the earth, who has been stricken dumb by Pan. 
Merla, a country girl, and the other six daughters 
of the earth love Neanias also but he will have 
nothing to do with them. Aglaé regains her speech 
as Pan becoming attached to Merla lifts the spell. 
The play is a splendid one for out-of-doors, it is 
quite picturesque and allows interesting grouping. 
Royalty: Apply to Curtis Brown, Ltd. 


Piper (The). Josephine Preston Peabody. 

Houghton Mifflin Company. Sr 75: 

Poetic play. 4 acts. 13 m. 6 w. 5 children. 
extras. Setting: is necessarily elaborate but with 
a little skill may be effectively devised. The 
scenes call for a market place, the interior of a 
hollow hill and a crossways. To an open space, 
booths may be added for the market place. They 
may be quickly removed for the hill interior which 
requires only a fire. For the crossways, an old 
shrine at left is sufficient. Costumes: Mediaeval in 
gay colors. Time: a full evening. Comment: a 
beautiful play based on the Pied-piper story; but a 
new version. A charming love story has been 
woven about the original theme. The play sis) a 
very successful one with parts for a large number, 
The setting when made attractive is valuable to the 
effect of the play. Royalty: $25. French. 


Princess Kiku. Hutchinson, M. F. Fitz- 
gerald Publishing Corporation. Zo 


Japanese romance in prose. 6 scenes. i 
extras. Setting: a beautiful Japanese he eS 
which all the scenes may be adapted. Costumes: 
prettily Japanese. Time: about two hours. Com.- 
ment: a play for girls with a rather possible plot, 
and with good dialogue. Splendid opportunity is 
given for a number of songs and dances. The 
theme is in brief, the story of a Japanese princess 
who loves an Englishman. The Englishman does 
not appear in the play. The princess is plotted 
against by an old wise woman. Royalty: None. 


Prometheus 


Bound. Aeschylus. 


Dramatists. Dutton. 85c. 

Tragedy in verse. 1 scene. Setting: a desolate 
place in Scythia. Costumes: Greek classic. Time: 
one and one-half hours. Comment: Any number 
of characters may be introduced. The plot of the 
story of this play is founded on the myth, that 
Prometheus favorite of Zeus, fell under that god’s 
displeasure in giving fire, by stealth, to the race 
of man. For punishment Zeus caused him to be 
chained to a rock in the Caucasus, to be tortured 
by heat and chill. The daughters of Oceanus (the 
chorus) come from the sea to comfort him. He 
is unconquerable, and is at length hurled into the 
Tartorus, the chorus sinking with him. The play, 
expurgated, condensed and arranged for schools is 
obtainable through the Werner Company. There 
are, however, several other translations which could 
be adapted. Royalty: None. 


Temple 


Prunella, or Love in a Dutch Garden. Lau- 


rence Housman and Granville Barker. 
Little, Brown and Company. $1.50. 


Charming, poetic fantasy. 3 acts. II m. 10 w. 
extras. Setting: a formal garden with a fountain; 
to right, a statue of Love; to left a house. The 
second scene, the same garden neglected and over- 
grown, shutters of house closed. Costumes: sim- 
ple but effective costumes for prim aunts, servants, 
gardeners. Pierrot and Pierrette costumes. Time: 
about two hours. Comment: the love story of 
Prunella and Pierrot, which for a time seems to 
take a disastrous turn, ends happily. Prunella’s 
mother, who fell in love with a French architect, 
left Prunella in the care of her old aunts, who 
make a very amusing attempt to protect their 
neice. A band of mummers from a nearby fair 
wander into the little garden and Pierrot finds 
Prunella, who falls under his spell and consents to 
go with him. Three years elapse, in which time 
Pierrot loses her, but they are reunited in the 
little Dutch garden. The play requires delicate 
handling and proper treatment for atmosphere, but 
is not difficult to produce. Suited to high school 
age. Royalty: $50. Paget Dramatic Agency. 


Ralph Roister Doister. Nicholas Udall. Jn 


Specimens of Pre-Shakespearean Drama, 
vol. 2. John Manly. Ginn and Company. 
$2.20. Also published by Dutton; Hough- 


ton Mifflin Company, and others. 

Early English comedy. 5 acts. 10 m. 4 w. 
extras. Setting: to represent a street or field, no 
scenery really necessary. Costumes: English, late 
sixteenth century. Time:,a full evening. Comz- 
ment: first English comedy after Plautus, a story 
of the daily life of England in the sixteenth cen- 
tury, relying for its effects on genuine comic quali- 
ties. The latter device is introduced with startling 
results. The plot is the story of the unsuccessful 
wooing of Ralph Roister Doister for the hand of 
Christian Custance; with various entanglements and 
ultimate failure, because his folly is so enormous. 


The plot is both ingenious and clear. Royalty: 
None. 
Romancers. Edmond Rostand. W. H. 


Baker Company. 35c. 

Romantic comedy in verse. 3 acts. 5 m. I w. 
extras. Setting: a garden with a wall at center, 
so placed as to cut the park in two, making a 
garden to the left, and one to the right. The 
wall should be removable. Costumes: of no special 
period, but should be attractive, seventeenth or 
eighteenth century. Time: a full evening. Com- 
ment: a delightful and successful comedy for out- 
doors. Two fathers, who are neighbors, determine 
to create a love affair between the daughter of one 
and the son of the other, by declaring a feud. They 
build a wall. The two children find each other in 
the truly approved Romeo and Juliet fashion. They 
are betrothed, then they learn that it was all a trick, 
despite the fact that they would have found each 
other notwithstanding. The boy goes out into the 
world to seek Romance. By clever artifice their 
friendship is again resumed and the wall is re- 
tained as indispensable Royalty: None. 


14 


Sad Shepherd, or a Tale of Robin Hood. 
Ben Jonson. Jn Complete Plays of Ben 
Jonson, Everyman Edition, vol 2, Dutton. 
Soc. (And others). 


Pastoral in verse. 3 acts and a prologue. 17 m. 
6 w. many extras. Setting: a forest of any 
wooded place. Costumes: Elizabethan. Time: about 
one and one-quarter hours. Comment: The Sad 
Shepherd, a masque, is excellent for outdoor pro- 
duction, suited to high school and college age, it 
has the additional value of a large cast. Robin 
Hood having invited all the shepherds and_shep- 
herdesses of the vale to a feast at Sherwood Castle, 
and relying upon Maid Marian and Friar Tuck to 
prepare the feast, welcomes his guests. The witch 
Maudlin, however, is the cause of much strife, as 
she assumes the shape of Maid Marian to abuse 


Robin Hood and perplex his guests. She carries - 


off the maid, Earine, and hides her from Aegla- 
mous, who believes her to have been drowned. 
The witch Maudlin, after having caused all pos- 
sible trouble, is tracked down by Robin Hood but 
is saved by the wary Puck. The pastoral though 
fragmentary, is of “great beauty and excellent 
poetic freshness.” It has been frequently pro- 
duced. Royalty: None. 


Sakoontala, or the Lost Ring. Kalidasa. 
trans., Monier Williams. Dutton. $2.50; 
W. H. Ryder, Everyman Series. Dutton. 
8oc.; Das Kupta and Lawrence Binyon. 
Macmillan Company. o.p. (And others). 


Drama in verse translated from the Sanskrit. 
7 scenes. 16 m. 14 w. extras. Setting: if. scenery 
is used a great amount would be necessary. One 
outdoor scene, however, can be used to represent 
the different places such as a forest, a garden, a 
plain, etc. Costumes: as the play dates from the 
third century, the costumes may be Roman, Greek, 
or Biblical. Time: a full evening. Comment: this 
is a drama of power and beauty, it is well worth 
producing and considerable originality can be em- 
ployed in the setting, costumes, etc., it can be 
cut and adapted for particular need. The story in 
brief is as follows: Dushyana, King of India, falls 
in love with Sakoontala, and she accepts from him 
according to the custom, a marriage ring, which 
serves also as a token of recognition. The king 
returning to his castle forgets Sakoontala due to 
a curse pronounced on her by a choleric Sage. The 
king fails to recognize her when she visits the 
castle and the ring mysteriously disappears. This 
series of events is followed by her assumption to 
a celestial asylum. The finding of the ring, brings 
about the final reunion of the King and Sakoon- 
tala. History: The Indian dramatist, Kalidasa, 
lived probably in the third century, and Sakoon- 
tala, his greatest play, has been admired in every 
country of the civilized world. Goethe has written 
of it and it plays a very important part in the 
recognition of the old Hindu civilization by the 
modern world. Royalty: None. 


Sherwood, or Robin Hood and the Three 
Kings. Alfred Noyes. Frederick Stokes 
and Company. $2.50. 

Romantic drama in verse. 5 acts; several 
scenes. 16 m. 6 w. extras. Setting: chiefly forest 
scenes. The interiors can readily be adapted to 
out-of-doors, with the addition of platforms and 
very little scenery. Costumes: Mediaeval for court 
people; Robin Hood costumes of Lincoln-green for 
the foresters; peasant costumes and fairy cos- 
tumes for others. Time: a long play, a full evening. 
Comment: this is an out-door pageant-like play of 
considerable value, having literary and dramatic 
excellence. It is a poetic version of the Robin 
Hood story. Prince John infatuated with Maid 
Marian, has outlawed her betrothed, Robin Hood. 
Many daring escapes and deeds of great skill and 
bravery are accomplished by Robin Hood at the 
head of his band of foresters. All look forward 
to the return of Richard the Lion-hearted from the 
Crusades, as he is their king and would put an 
end to John’s abuses. More treachery is brought 
to bear on the lovers by Queen Elinor, mother of 
John and Richard, who has formed an overpower- 
ing attachment for Robin Hood, which he repels. 
Richard returns as an unknown knight and twice 
saves Robin’s life. The lovers are again united 


PLAYS “FOR: OUT- DOOR THEATRES 


and received at court. Not long afterwards, Rich- 
ard is killed in France. Robin Hood is mortally 
wounded by John’s men and finally dies at the 
hands of the jealous Elinor, who also kills Marian. 
The play closes with a charming scene in Fairy- 
land, with Oberon and Titania waiting to receive 
them. The play is very good to introduce large 
groups, suited to community purposes, schools and 
colleges, and may be done entirely by girls. Roy- 
alty: $50. Paget Dramatic Agency. 


Shoemaker’s Holiday. Thomas Dekker. In 


Best Plays, Mermaid Series. Scribners. 
$1.25. (And others). 


Comedy in verse and prose. 5 acts. 17 m. 4 w. 
Setting: any outdoor stage, to which may be added 
a booth with drop shutter for the shoe shop scenes, 
for the other scenes simple Elizabethan chairs and 
tables. Costumes: period, English, sixteenth cen- 
tury, Elizabethan. Time: a full evening. Com- 
ment: a delightful comedy with fine characteriza- 
tion, the comedy characters, the shoemaker and 
his wife, are especially well portrayed. The in- 
terest is divided between the story of the Master 
Shoemaker and his rise to power as the Mayor, and 
the romantic love story of Lacy, who disguised as 
a shoemaker, wins his love Rose. There is a third 
story, slighter than the other two but none the 
less amusing, that of Ralph and his love for Jane, 
which though saddened by his leaving for the wars 
has a very bright outcome. ‘‘The comedy is in- 
deed the most perfect presentation of the brightness 
and social interest of the every day Elizabethan 
life which is to be found in English Drama.” 
Royalty: None. 


Trojan Women. Euripides. trans., Gilbert 


Murray. Oxford University Press. 9oc. 

Tragedy in verse. 1 scene. 4 m. 5 w. extras 
(soldiers and chorus of Trojan women). Setting: 
a battlefield, at the rear of which are the walls 
of Troy. Costumes: Greek classic. Time: two 
hours. Comment: this powerful tragedy depicts 
the horrors of war, which have not changed in 
three thousand years. There is very little plot and 
it is not a perfect play, but as the translator says, 
“Tt is only the crying of one of the great wrongs 
of the world wrought into music.’”’ The victorious 
ones have mockery dealt out to them; but the Tro- 
jan women, the seemingly vanquished, are the un- 
conquered and unconquerable spirits. The play 
opens with a prologue in which Poseidon and 
Athena agree to harry the fleet of the victorious 
Greeks. Hecuba, captive queen of Troy, appears 
before her fallen city, seeing and hearing the sad- 
ness of her people. Helen pleads with Menelaus, 
claiming that she was the unwilling victim of it 
all, while Hecuba urges Menelaus to kill his wife 
ere she betray him again. The burning walls of 
Troy fall, and Hecuba makes a desperate attempt 
to throw herself, living, into the flames of her 
city. The play closes with the conquered women 
going down to the Greek ships. The play has 
great appeal. Royalty: None. 


Twelfth Night. William Shakespeare. Tem- 


ple Edition. Dutton, $1.25; Oxford Edition 
(Gordon). Oxford. Press. 7oc)> CWany 
others). 


Comedy in verse. 5 acts: 11. ms 3) warextras. 
Setting: a pleasant grove will satisfy the actors 
and the audience. The scenes are a court, which 
may be a terraced garden, and a seacoast. Cos- 
tumes: Elizabethan for the duke and his attendants 
and for Olivia and her followers; Moorish cos- 
tumes for Viola and her brother. Time: a full 
evening. Comment: Viola and Sebastian, twin 
brother and sister, are shipwrecked and separated. 
Viola disguised as a page arrives at the court of 
Orsino, who sends her to Lady Olivia on his own 
behalf. Lady Olivia, however, falls in love with 
the charming page, who is at length forced to fight 
a duel for her. Viola is saved by Antonio who 
mistakes her for her brother. Meanwhile Se- 
bastian comes to the court of Olivia, and she be- 
lieving him to be her late messenger, Orsino’s 
page, declares her love for him and he gallantly 
marries her. Viola returns, is reunited with her 
brother and solves the difficulty of the suitor 
Orsino, by marrying him. Royalty. None. 


Two Gentlemen . of 


Pio FOR OUT-DOOR- LHEATRES Po ts, 


Verona. William 
Shakespeare. Temple Edition. Dutton. 
$1.25; Oxford Edition. Oxford Press. 
$2.25. (Many others). 


Comedy in verse. 5 acts. II m. 3 w. extras. 
Setting: Verona, Milan and the frontiers of Man- 
tua. If staging is kept very simple, the play may 
be readily given out-of-doors. Costwmes: period, 
may be either Italian Renaissance or Elizabethan. 
Time: a full evening. Comment: this is the first 
of the Shakespeare dramas in which the device of 
a woman: disguised as a boy is used. Valentine 
in his travels, falls in love with Sylvia, the daugh- 
ter of the Duke of Milan. Proteus, forgetting his 
love Julia, also falls in love with Sylvia, and at- 
tempts to out-do his friend Valentine, by betray- 
ing his intentions to the Duke. The angry Duke 
banishes Valentine. Julia, disguised as a page, 
overhears Proteus courting Sylvia, who will have 
none of him. Sylvia also refuses to recognize 
Thurio, her father’s choice. She escapes from 
Milan, falls into the hands of outlaws, who are 
under the leadership of Valentine. Her father fol- 
lowing her is also captured, and Thurio is chal- 
lenged by Valentine. Thurio willingly gives up all 
claim to the hand of Sylvia as he fears for his 
own safety. The Duke then forgives his daughter 
and the brave Valentine, and Proteus and Julia 
are reconciled. The play dates from 1591, and is 
thought to be an adaptation of the Spanish ro- 
mance, Diana. Royalty: None. 


Ulysses. Stephen Phillips. Jn Phillips’ Se- 
lected Plays. Macmillan Company. $3.50. 


Poetic drama in verse. 3 acts and prologue. 
21 m. 8 w. extras. Setting: a large out-door stage 
that can be adapted to represent the summit of 
Mount Olympus, the forecourt of a palace at 
Ithaca, and a barren shore. Stone benches are 
needed as furniture. Costwmes: Greek classic. 
Time: a full evening (the play allows consider- 
able cutting). Comment: a poetic dramatization of 
the life and wanderings of Ulysses, from the story 
of the Odyssey of Homer. The theme is especially 
suited to high school production, but the play 
would have to be cut and adapted. Royalty: Apply 
to Mrs. May Phillips, 1 Sunnyside, Chaucer Road, 
Middlesex, England. 


Washington, the Man Who Made Us. 
Percy MacKaye. Knopf. $2.50. 


Ballad play in prose. 3 acts, with a prologue 
and epilogue, making a total of fifteen scenes. 
8 m. 8 w. a boy and a girl and extras. Setting: 
an outdoor stage that can be greatly elaborated to 
represent or suggest such varied places as Mt. 
Vernon, Harvard, Columbia, Valley Forge, etc. 
This is necessary when the play is given in its en- 
tirety, as a community drama on an elaborate 


scale. For the presentation of one or more epi- 
sodes, however, the setting can be made quite sim- 
ple. Costumes: difficult and varied, Colonial period. 
Time: a full evening. Comment: this romantic, 
historical play is the story of the life of Washing- 
ton, presented as a community drama. It includes 
fifteen scenes, each one complete in itself, elab- 
orated with song and dance motifs. The author’s 
attempt is to present Washington ‘“‘in his strong 
prime with truth to reality—a magnetic human 
being, patient, resourceful, lovable and greatly be- 
loved,”’ and he has succeeded in giving a very in- 
teresting characterization and a _ successful ballad 
play, often finely dramatic. An appendix with a 
full outline of scenes, transitions and characters 
supplements the play. Suited to pageant purposes 
and high school use. Royalty: Communicate with 
with the author, at the Harvard Club, N.Y.C. 


Well of the Saints. John Millington Synge. 


John W. Luce Company. $1.25. 

An Irish folk comedy. 3 acts. 4 m. 3 w. ex- 
tras. Setting: calls for two scenes, one a roadway 
with two large stones as a resting place (a church 
off left‘may or may not be indicated); the other 
an open space with a well at center and a black- 
smith’s shop off left. Costumes: Irish peasant. 
Time: two hours. Comment: Martin and Mary, 
husband and wife, are blind and very poor. They 
are very homely but each thinks himself beautiful 
and they do not lack in praising themselves or each 
other. A miracle gives them their sight and the 
comedy of their dialogue is overshadowed by the 
tragedy of their discovery. They voluntarily be- 
come blind again, and even flee from the saint 
who attempts to restore their sight a second time. 
A splendid play if well directed, but requires actors 
with experience. Royalty: $25 French. 


Woman’s Town (The). Serafin and Joaquin 


Alvarez Quintero. Jn Contemporary 
Spanish Dramatists edited and translated 
by Alfred Turrell. Badger and Company. 


Farce comedy in prose. 2 acts. 5 m. 8 w. Setting: 
a patio or reception hall, which can be adapted to 
a formal garden. Costumes: modern Spanish, con- 
cerning the individual costumes there are many 
helpful notes in the script. Time: about two 
hours. Comment: the Woman’s Town is a small 
Spanish village where women and gossip reign. 
The gossips bring about a love affair which at first 
was purely of their creation, but which has actually 
come into existence by the power of gossip, and 
the artful manouvering of these busy-bodies. The 
helpless lover, a victim of circumstance, falls in 
with their plan and all are satisfied. A very enter- 
taining play with amusing situations, and not too 
difficult. Royalty: Apply to Professor Charles A. 
Turrell. 


16 PLAYS FOR: OUT-DOOR THEATRES 


PLAYS FOR MEN 


Abraham, Melchisedec and Isaac (Short) Lost Silk Hat (Short) 


Blind (Short) Medicine Show (Short) 

Corydon (Short) Pawns (Short) 

Free Speech (Short) Traitor (Short) 

Glittering Gate (Short) | X-O a Night of the Trojan War (Short) 


PLAYS FOR WOMEN 
(Greek Classic Plays and Shakespeare Plays are always adaptable for a cast of 


women). 
Alcestis (Long) Lady of the Weeping Willow (Long) 
Alexander and Campaspe (Long) Lost Pleitad (Long) 
Chaplet of Pan (Short) Masque of Culture (Short) 
Chinese Lantern (Long) Princess Kiku (Long) 


Idyll of the Carp (Short) Wonder Hat (Short) 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


COLLECTIONS 


Baker: 47 Workshop Plays. Harvard University. Sold by Brentano’s. 3 series, 
each $1.25. 

Clark, Barrett H. Representative One-Act Plays by British and Irish Authors. 
Little, Brown and Company. $3. 

Clements Colin Campbell (Author). Plays for a Folding Theatre, (7). D. 
Appleton and Company. $2. 

sides Helen Louise. One-Act Plays by Modern Authors. Harcourt Brace. 
2.25, 

Cook, George Cram and Shay, Frank. Provincetown Plays (10). D. Apple- 
ton and Company. $2.50. 

Evans, Herbert Arthur. English Masques. Blackie & Son, Stanhope St., Glas- 
gow, Scotland. 

Everyman Edition. Everyman with Other Interludes Including Eight Miracle 
Plays. Dutton. Cloth, Soc. 

Gayley, C. M. Representative English Comedies from Beginning to Shakespeare. 
Macmillan. $2.50. 

Leonard, Sterling Andrews. Atlantic Book of. Modern Plays (15); with a 
Bibliography of Plays for Reading in High Schools. Atlantic Monthly 
Publishing Company, Boston. $2. 

Lewis, Roland B. Contemporary One-Act Plays (18). Scribner. $2; School 
Edition, $1.50. 

Manley, John M. Specimens of Pre-Shakespearean Drama. 2 vol. Ginn. 
$2.20 a vol. 

Mayorga, Margaret Gardner. Representative One-Act Plays by American Au- 
thors (24)—(Appendix: Selective list of one-act plays by American au- 
thors.) Little, Brown and Company. $3. 

Moses, Montrose J. Representative One-Act Plays by Continental Authors. 
Little, Brown and Company. $3. 

Pollard, Alfred, editor and compiler. English Miracle Plays, Moralities and In- 
terludes. Oxford Press. $2.85. 

Shay, are Treasury of Plays for Women (18). Little, Brown and Com- 
pany. 

Shay, Beanek Twenty Contemporary One-Act Plays, American. D. Appleton 
and Company. $3.75. 

Shay, Frank, and Loving, Pierre. Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays. D. 
Appleton and Company. $5. 

Smith, Alice M. Short Plays by Representative Authors (12). Macmillan. 96c. 

Turrell, C. A. Contemporary Spanish Dramatists. Badger. $3. 


RLANSELISTS 


Boston. Drama League. Selective List of Plays for Amateurs. 

Brown University Library. Plays of To-day. 1921. 100 Best Modern Dramas. 

Chicago Public Library. 1916. Actable One-Act Plays. 

Clapp, John Mantel. Plays for Amateurs, Drama League of America. Chicago. 
IQI5. 
Columbia University. 1921. Teacher’s College Bulletin and List of Plays 
Suitable for Production by High School Students. Series 13. No. 30. 
Cornell Extension Bulletin. List of Plays, N.Y. State College of Agriculture, 
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. Bul. No. 53. 

Drummond, A. M. Plays for ‘the Time. English Journal. vol. VIII, p. 419-428. 
IQIQ. University of Chicago Press. 

Drummond, A. ee i! One-Act Plays. Quarterly Journal of Public Speak- 
ing, vol. Ent 

Hogg, Weneea nin “Guide to Selecting Plays for Use of Professionals and 
Amateurs. French. 1916. 

Koch, F. H. and Lay, E. A., compilers for Community Drama Service, Plays 
for Amateurs. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C. 

McFadden, Elizabeth and Davis, Lilian E. A Selected List of Plays for Ama- 
teurs and Students of Dramatic Expression in Schools and Colleges. Pri- 
vately Printed. 


18 


PLAYS“ FOR “OU TsDOOR THEATRES 


New York Drama League. Plays for Amateurs. Prepared by S. Marion 
Tucker. H. W. Wilson Company. 6o0c. 

Riley, Alice D. The One-Act Play, Study Course. Drama League Monthly, 
Feb.-April, 1918. 

Selective List of Plays for Amateurs, Drama League, Boston. Doubleday, 
Page Company, Garden City, N. Y. 

Stratton, Clarence. One Hundred Plays for Amateurs. Address, Board of 
Education, Cleveland. 

University of Utah. Extension, Series No. 2. Plays for School and College 
ae arranged by Roland R. Lewis. Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, 
Utah. 

Worcester, Mass. Free Public Library. Selected List of One-Act Plays. 


GENERAL 


Bates and Orr. Pageants and Pageantry. Ginn. 

Cheney, Sheldon. The Art Theatre. (Appendix: Plays produced at the Arts 
and Crafts Theatre, Detroit.) Knopf. 1917. $2.50. 

Cheney, Sheldon. Open Air Theatre. Kennerley. 

Chicago, Newberry Library. Materials for the Study of English Drama (ex- 
cluding Shakespeare). 

Chubb. Festivals and Plays. Harper. 

Clark, Barrett H. How to Produce Amateur Plays. Little, Brown and Com- 
pany,  SL.75. 

Crawford and Beegle. Community Drama and Pageantry. Yale Press. 

Dickenson, Thomas H. The Insurgent Theatre. (Appendix: List of Plays 
produced by Little Theatres.) Huebsch. $1.25. 

Lewis, Rowland B. The Technique of the One-Act Play. (Appendix: Con- 
temporary One-Act Plays.) Luce. $1.75. 

Mackay, Constance D’Arcy. Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs. Holt. $1.75. 

Mackay, Constance D’Arcy. The Little Theatre in the United States. (Appen- 
dix: List of Plays produced by Little Theatres.). Holt. $2.50. 

MacKaye, Percy. The Civic Theatre: Kennerley. 

MacKaye, Percy. Community Drama. Houghton Mifflin. 75c. 

Matthews, Brander. Chief European Dramatists. Houghton Mifflin. $4. 

Shay, Frank. Plays and Books of the Little Theatre. Shay. 

Stratton, Clarence. Producing in Little Theatres. Holt. $2. 

University of Wisconsin, Gertrude Johnson. Choosing a Play. 

Wise, Claude Merton. Dramatics for School and Cee ( Bibliographies 
include—Collections of one-act plays, Collections of full- -evening plays, 
Biblical plays, Pageants and Masques, Book list for dramatization in school 
work, Plays for reading and presentation, and a general list of useful books.) 
1923. D. Appleton and Company. $3. 


PLAYS FOR OUT-DOOR THEATRES 


DIRECTORY OF PUBLISHERS 


Appleton: D. Appleton and Company, New York and London. 

Arens: Egmont, Washington Square Book Shop, 27 W. 8th St., N.Y. 

Baker: Walter H. Baker, 5 Hamilton Place, Boston, Mass. 

pare Richard G. Badger (The Gorham Press), 100 Charles Street, Boston, 

ass. 

Brentano’s, Fifth Avenue & 27th Street, N.Y. 

Century: Century Company, 353 Fourth Avenue, N.Y. 

Dufheld: Duffield and Company, 211 E. 19th Street, N.Y. 

Dutton: E. P. Dutton & Company, 681 Fifth Ave., N.Y. 

Fitzgerald Publishing Corporation, 18 Vesey Street, N.Y. 

47 Workshop, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 

French: Samuel French, 28 W. 38th Street, N.Y. 

Ginn: Ginn & Company, 15 Ashburton Place, Boston; 2301-2311 Prairie Ave., 
Chicago; 70 Fifth Avenue, New York. 

Harper: Harper & Brothers, 49 E. 33rd Street, N.Y. 

Harcourt: Harcourt Brace & Company, 383 Madison Avenue, N.Y. 

SOO eens Holt & Company, 19 W. 44th Street, N.Y.; 2451 Prairie Avenue, 

icago. 

Houghton: Houghton Mifflin Company, 4 Park Street, Boston; 16 E. 4oth St., 
N.Y.; 2451-2459 Prairie Ave., Chicago; 612 Howard St., San Francisco, Cal. 

Huebsch: B. W. Huebsch, 116 W. 13th Street, N.Y. 

Kennerley: Mitchell Kennerley, 489 Park Ave., N.Y. 

Knopf: Alfred A. Knopf, 220 W. 42nd Street, N. Y. 

Lane: John Lane Company (American business has been taken over by Dodd 
Mead & Company, Fourth Ave. and 30th Street, N.Y.) 

LeRoy Phillips, Publisher, 124 Chestnut Street, Boston, Mass. 

Little: Little, Brown and Company, 34 Beacon Street, Boston. 

Luce: John W. Luce & Company, 212 Summer Street, Boston, Mass. 

Macmillan: The Macmillan Company, 64 Fifth Ave., N.Y. 

Mosher: T. B. Mosher, Portland, Maine. 

Norman, Remington Company, 308 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, Md. 

Oxford University Press (American Branch), 35 W. 32nd Street, N.Y. 

Routledge: G. Routledge and Sons, 68-74 Carter Lane, Ludgate Hill, London, 
E 


ei 

Scribner: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 597 Fifth Avenue, N.Y.; 320 E. a2tist- St., 
Chicago. 

Shay: Frank Shay, 4 Christopher Street, N.Y. 

Sidgwick and Jackson, 3 Adam Street, Adelphi, London W.C. 

Smith Elder & Company, 15 Waterloo Place, London, S.W. 

Stage Guild, Railway Exchange Bldg., Chicago. 

Stewart, Kidd Company business has been taken over by D. Appleton and Com- 
pany. 

Stokes: F. A. Stokes Company, 443-449 Fourth Ave., N.Y. 

Theatre Arts Magazine, 7 E. 42nd Street, N.Y. 

Washington Square Book Shop, 27 W. 8th Street, N.Y. 

Werner: E. S. Werner & Company, 11 E. 14th Street, N.Y. 

White: James T. White & Company, 70 Fifth Avenue, N.Y. 

Yale University Press, 143 Elm Street, New Haven, Conn.; 522 Fifth Ave., N.Y. 


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